Is anyone else bothered by the lopsided concern for a student leaving school grounds without parental consent, while having none for the dispensing of high doses of hormones to that same student without parental consent? Parents are responsible for their children’s health and well-being, but they are being undermined by laws that take away their right to monitor their children’s medical activities and behavior.

The U.S. Supreme Court started this dangerous ball rolling in 1977 when it decided that minors had a constitutional right to confidentiality so that they might obtain birth control. Parenting is difficult enough and in a sorry enough state in this country, we don’t need to add to the problems by cutting parents off from life-altering decisions of their children.

A minor can receive anything from medication to an abortion without parental consent, either of which could threaten her life. Shouldn’t a parent be a part of that? Ignoring the moral concerns, shouldn’t parents know what medical attention their children are getting so as to best help them?

Colleen Mahan, Greene

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