New Zealand Schools Overstepping Their Boundaries?

OK I would fliiiiiiiiip out if this was going on at my daughter's school. Check out this article I came across. On what planet does the school have the right to "assist" children with abortions? I don't have any kids but imagining this has made me so angry. >:(

New Zealand parents are outraged after learning some schools are helping to keep teenage girls’ abortions a secret, the Sunday Star-Times reports.

One mom is angry that her 16-year-old daughter had a secret abortion allegedly arranged by a school counselor.

"I was horrified. Horrified that she'd had to go through that on her own, and horrified her friends and counselors had felt that she shouldn't talk to us," she told the Star-Times.
The mother learned that the school counselor had taken the girl for a scan and to doctors. “I didn’t know they could do that,” she said.

Another mother who was worried for her 15-year-old daughter "hit a brick wall" when she approached the school, and eventually discovered it was a friend of her daughter's who had undergone an abortion. "But I went through the horror of knowing that under the legislation, they did not need to say anything to me."

One teacher tells the Star-Times she knew of a student who had two abortions – one with her parents’ knowledge, and one without.

According to attorney Kathryn Dalziel, New Zealand educators are bound by the Health Privacy Code.

“When it comes to contraception and abortion, they [counselors] would need the consent of the person before they could share information with a parent or the school," Dalziel said.
Guidance counselor Helen Bissett said the situation could be an "ethical nightmare," and a number of schools now had wellness centers so girls could see a nurse, not a counselor.
Not knowing how a parent would react was one of the main reasons girls wanted to hide the truth, she said.

According to The Sunday Star-Times, statistics show that 3,950 New Zealand teens ages 11 through 19 had induced abortions in 2009. Of those, 79 were between 11 and 14 years old. Under section 38 of the Care of Children Act 2004, a female of any age can consent to an abortion. In 2004, lawmaker Judith Collins put forward an amendment to prevent girls under 16 from having an abortion without their parents' knowledge. The amendment was voted down.


Source: foxnews.com

I'd be absolutely furious I have to say.  It's outrageous; it's like a licence to get pregnant if they can't be bothered to use protection.  "It's ok - Mum will never know and the school will pay for the abortion".  Disgraceful.

From when he was a very young age, I always taught my child that no matter what he tells me he has done, I won't be mad but I will help him sort things out and that he should never be afraid to tell me the truth.  To this day, he is open and honest with me and whilst this is very different to having a daughter that could get pregnant, I certainly would have said the same to her had I had a daughter.  But if I found out that my daughter had gone through an abortion without even telling me she was pregnant....I would be absolutely livid.

Thanks for the story Froggy.

blue

OMG froggy...tell me about it.

Not too long ago I found out that not only any ages of teens can have it done without consulting their parents but clinics or hospitals don't have to have consent forms filled by parents/legal guardians or notify before and after it's performed.
I don't think that teens should be allowed to have abortions without parental consent.
I may sounds a old traditional parent but in my opinion, a teen is not fully disclose/understand a medical condition that could make one of these options life threatening and by excluding parents from this, the teen will loose the support and ability to confide and seek love and advice from their parents...
They are still minors and I just don't understand the reason to exclude parents from medical procedures.

My question is - what if the girl died during the abortion?  I know it's unlikely but there always has to be that risk factor.  What would happen then and how would the school explain it to the parents?

blue

I absolutely agree with you Nan. You do have a point blue. What if something horrific happened? I can't believe what can be done without parental consent.

That's unbelievable! We're talking about surgery here and as far as I know a child can't even have his/hers tonsils removed without the parents' consent!

You're right there Johnny. 

I struggle to imagine the anger the parents must feel when they find out.

blue