If a minor girl is taking advantage of PP's services or of over-the-counter morning after pills, etc., then she's also having sex. Some parents don't approve of that, others approve as long the normal precautions are taken (and the parents who approve tend to be the ones whose teens will talk to them rather than PP or any other outside party), and others flat out don't give a sh!t what their kids are doing.
The parents who really care what their kids are up to need to be keeping close enough tabs on their kids to know if their sexually active. As far as I'm concerned, abdicating in one area constitutes abdicating in the other. If a parent's relationship with their daughter is such that she's having sex without their knowledge, then she might as well be visiting PP without their knowledge too. If the parents disapprove of teen sexual activity, they're sunk already, because their daughter has obviously already picked up values in opposition to theirs, long before she feels the need to visit PP.
The fact is, most of the minor patrons of PP are not the daughters of parents who are seriously interested in preventing their girls from having sex. In many cases, the mother is too busy with her latest short-term boyfriend or too drunk or strung out on meth to care, and the father is long gone. And of course many parents approve of their daughters becoming sexually active, and are taking them to PP themselves. I don't believe for a second that the existence of confidential services such as those provided by PP and other groups are the cause of any significant amount of teen sexual activity that wouldn't be happening otherwise.
Now I'm not a big fan of PP, because they generally seem more interested in promoting socialism, than in providing reproductive health services. And I'm not really a big fan of government funding much of anything. But I'd a whole lot rather have a few of my tax dollars going to PP, than have boatloads of my tax dollars going to welfare services and public school expansion for all the unwanted babies of irresponsible teenagers, and for Medicaid services to poor teenagers who contract STDs that could easily have been avoided -- and trust me, all those teenagers, and their babies after they grow up, will vote for more and more socialism, because it's what they've relied on all their lives. Removing onerous restrictions on providing reproductive health care to teens confidentially would also encourage more providers to enter that market, hopefully weakening the influence of socialism-promoting PP.
You are missing my point.
If the daughter of a "bad" mother needs dental work - it doesn't matter what kind of a girl she is, or what kind of a mother she is - the legal guardian needs to approve of the treatment.
If the kid walks into a chiropractor's office - same thing.
Same thing at the ER.
The school nurse cannot give this child any meds whatsoever at school without a note from the parents AND also a note from the doctor.
Every other institution in our country that would offer any kind of medical/medicinal/therapeutic treatment to minors requires consent of the legal guardian. This is the law EXCEPT with facilities like PP.
This is the only place where a child can walk in and receive treatment without consent of parents, and often at the cost of the taxpayer.
This is government daring to step in and stand in as the legal guardian - and that is socialism.
"The parents who really care what their kids are up to need to be keeping close enough tabs on their kids to know if their sexually active."
Even the best of parents can have kids who will give into the lure of escaping responsibility of "fessing up" to mom and dad because our government has given PP license to act as stand-in guardians.
It will always be attractive to any type of teen to escape the "talk" with mom and dad when they know the friendly folks at PP will hand out anything that is requested, with no strings or values attached.
Have you visited PP's website? Do you have a daughter?
"If the parents disapprove of teen sexual activity, they're sunk already, because their daughter has obviously already picked up values in opposition to theirs, long before she feels the need to visit PP."
Kids screw up - hopefully they learn, and they get back up.
When parents are allowed to play their role they can help their kids along the way. When they are not allowed to play that role the kids will often continue down a destructive path.
Your description of these parents already being "sunk" is only accurate if the government allows an agency like PP to step into their shoes and behave as if they're the legal guardians - which they are not.
"The fact is, most of the minor patrons of PP are not the daughters of parents who are seriously interested in preventing their girls from having sex."
Really? Do you have the numbers on that? Because personally I've seen many cases where that simply isn't true. I've seen many girls with wonderful parents chicken out and head to the clinic because they knew it was the easy way out. I went to highschool with them, I went to college with them, and now my daughter is telling me she's seeing the same thing with her classmates.
And this is all beside the point that PP is moving in and behaving as a stand-in legal guardian where no other medical facility in our nation is allowed to do so.
"In many cases, the mother is too busy with her latest short-term boyfriend or too drunk or strung out on meth to care, and the father is long gone."
I'm sure this happens, but the strung out mother is still expected to sign the dotted line at the ER - and the same should apply at PP.
" And of course many parents approve of their daughters becoming sexually active, and are taking them to PP themselves."
Yes they are, and they have the legal right to do so.
I'm not fighting that battle.
"I don't believe for a second that the existence of confidential services such as those provided by PP and other groups are the cause of any significant amount of teen sexual activity that wouldn't be happening otherwise."
There are many causes. This is an organization that contributes to the breakdown of parental authority and is bizarrely allowed to behave as legal guardians to these kids when they have no business doing so.
" But I'd a whole lot rather have a few of my tax dollars going to PP, than have boatloads of my tax dollars going to welfare services and public school expansion for all the unwanted babies of irresponsible teenagers, and for Medicaid services to poor teenagers who contract STDs that could easily have been avoided -- and trust me, all those teenagers, and their babies after they grow up, will vote for more and more socialism, because it's what they've relied on all their lives"
Oh I see. So...you're an elitist and a utilitarian who promotes a socialist organization as long as you perceive it to be accomplishing goals you approve of?
"Removing onerous restrictions on providing reproductive health care to teens confidentially would also encourage more providers to enter that market, hopefully weakening the influence of socialism-promoting PP."
A surefire way to weaken the influence the socialism is to give parents their parental powers back.