Life Links 6/14/11

A Conneticut state senator added a parental consent for abortion amendment on to a bill to create parental consent for minor tanning. This led to the bill not being voted on. Amazingly, some people just can't see the parallels.

"If you can have parental consent for minors for ear-piercing or tanning, why shouldn't you have parental consent for minors for abortions?'' he said Monday.

Derek Slap, communications director for the Senate Democrats, called McLachlan's argument "ridiculous.''

"He knows exactly what he's doing,'' Slap said. "This is political grandstanding.''

The bill in question would have required parents to accompany their child under the age of 18 to a tanning parlor, learn of the risks of tanning, then sign a permission slip on site before their child could use the tanning facilities.

While the Center for Reproductive Rights doesn't want to challenge 20-week fetal pain measures, they've already challenged Texas' ultrasound law.


The Des Moines Register editorial staff thinks doctors prescribing potentially dangerous abortion drugs via web cam without ever physically examining patients is medical progress. They also think nurses should be allowed to prescribe abortion pills, though they don't provide any argument for why.