The story of a pregnant 13-year-old in Idaho illustrates why Harris and the Democrats must win

The sadism of the anti-choice crusadersThere are far too many poster children for all the evil inflicted on America by a few religious zealots, enabled by a far greater number of MAGAs. One could be 13-year-old Aleah in Idaho. Her story should make everyone, except the most flint-hearted bastard, as mad as hell. Sadly, America does not lack flint-hearted bastards.These are the people who remain indifferent to a 10-year-old rape victim who was banned from getting an abortion in her home state, Ohio. And had to go to Indiana to get her medical needs met. Or a 13-year-old rape victim in Mississippi, who had to give birth to her rapist’s child because the family could not afford to travel to Illinois, the nearest state offering treatment for her forced condition.Let us remember that sex under the age of consent is always rape, barring some ‘close in age’ (aka Romeo and Juliet) legal exceptions. Yet despite this, there are still those who blame the victim. Aleah’s story Note: the details come from a Washington Post report, CLICK HERE — the paywall should be down. But the commentary is mine. The piece starts:The patient, 36 weeks pregnant, was having mild but frequent contractions. She had come to the emergency room in this small lakeside town because she was new to the area and had no doctor. In most cases, physician Caitlin Gustafson would have begun a pelvic exam to determine whether labor had started. This time, she called the hospital’s lawyers.Mom-to-be Aleah was only 13 years old. And under a new Idaho law requiring parental consent for nearly all minors’ health care, Gustafson could be sued for treating her because the girl had been brought in by her great-aunt.That a girl can’t be immediately treated because of a doctor’s fear of legal consequences for doing what is best for a patient is insane. But the madness is also in the small details.WaPo does not mention — probably because Americans accept this as normal — that the first thing Aleah was probably asked on admittance was “What insurance do you have?” A question most Europeans would find absurd.Regardless, the hospital would have treated her, even without insurance — except for the state parental consent law. It’s absurd. I’m a parent. By all means, let me know what’s going on. But if my kid needs potential emergency treatment, give it. Don’t wait for my permission.In Aleah’s case, this parental consent did not come easy. As WaPo further explains:“What followed were more than two frantic hours of trying to contact Aleah’s mother, who was living in a car, and her grandmother, who was the teen’s legal guardian. The grandmother finally gave verbal consent for the exam — from the Boise-area jail where she was incarcerated on drug charges.Fortunately, it turned out that Aleah’s contractions were a false alarm. Although, when she returned for a follow-up a few days later the incarcerated grandmother had to give consent again.Finally, Anna Karren, Aleah’s great-aunt, who had brought her in originally, got power of attorney (POA) from the grandma. And Aleah received the medical attention she needed until she gave birth.Note: Aleah had been living with an aunt three hours south until the woman was threatened with eviction. That’s when Karren, a construction worker at a ski resort, got a panicked call. She had not been in touch with Aleah’s grandmother — her sister — for some time.The POA that had given Karren the authority to make decisions for Aleah, also allowed her to consent to treatment for the new baby. However, in an Orwellian irony, that permission was unnecessary. Aleah, as the mother, even though she couldn't make medical decisions for herself, could make them for her child.BTW, in case you are wondering, the father is another teenager — who is in juvenile detention.The big pictureMake no mistake, there are many people in Idaho — including physicians, therapists, adolescent advocates, school officials and some law enforcement authorities — who have called out the law as “misguided and dangerous.”But religiously motivated, sanctimonious legislators are impervious to humanity, empathy, and common sense. And those are the callous bastards who pass these sociopathic lawsThe paper goes on:Critics say the law — which also grants parents access to minors’ health records, doing away with confidentiality that providers and teen advocates call crucial — ignores the reality that parents aren’t always present or trustworthy. Three months after its implementation, they contend it is hindering adolescents’ ability to access counseling, limiting evidence collection in sexual assault cases and causing schools to seek parental permission to treat scrapes with ice packs and Band-Aids.I am not saying that parents should be barred from having any say in their teenage children’s medical care. But what happened to granting school authorities and medical personnel some “in loco parentis” leeway? There are some things teens need to ‘bounce off’ an adult they trust because some subjects are hard to talk with parents about. Imagine the stress of being an LGBTQ kid with homophobic parents. They don’t have to be religious fundatists. It’s bad enough if Dad tells gay/lesbian jokes. Or Mom criticizes one child for being a ‘tomboy’ or pushes another to play sports when they would rather sew.Children can be reticent to talk to the most broad-minded parents — who may not be as broad-minded as they think. “Don’t worry. It’s just a phase.”Not all Republicans are thoughtless. State Rep. Marco Erickson (R), a youth organizer, said in an email to WaPo:“It has been a terrible bill with terrible outcomes for the youth, especially those who are the victims of their parents’ abuse. I have seen youth not want to participate in therapy for fear their abuser would gain access to what they are talking about. I tried to warn my fellow legislators ... but I was one Republican voice among a group of people who do not understand how things work on the ground.”But Erickson’s concern and compassion only went so far. This SOB voted for the bill anyway (reluctantly).The bigger pictureDo laws giving parents absolute rights over their children lead to the best outcome for every child? Hardly. Some parents are not good at parenting. And children raised by those parents — or one of those parents, or a grandparent, or an aunt, or have been in multiple foster homes separated from their six siblings (see Aleah) have a steeper climb to becoming, themselves, good parents.Conservatives are always banging the table to declaim that a mother and father together raising children is the ideal. Yet how are kids supposed to know that — or that children raised by same-sex parents have positive outcomes — if these same people keep passing laws banning trained adults from educating the children of ill-informed parents?Comprehensive sex education should be mandatory in schools. And that should stress the huge burden of single-parenting and teenage pregnancy. Relationship counseling should go hand-in-hand with free contraception. You don't have to sleep with someone to prove your love for them. But if you do want to sleep with them, here’s how you do it safely — with minimum long-term consequences in the form of a kid or an STD.Legislators should pass laws that benefit every citizen no matter what age. Not laws to promote a personal religious agenda. Pregnant women who want to give birth are dying because doctors are too scared to treat complications from pregnancy. And girls who shouldn't be pregnant are because legislators are sacrificing common sense to religious fundamentalism.They can call it “parental rights.” But these godawful people don’t give a shit about parents any more than they give a shit about children. Or children giving birth to children.Conservatives will never cure this circle of futility. Liberals have a chance. But only if they win elections — federal and state.

The sadism of the anti-choice crusaders There are far too many poster children for all the evil inflicted on America by a few religious zealots, enabled by a far greater number of MAGAs. One could be 13-year-old Aleah in Idaho. Her story should make everyone, except the most flint-hearted bastard, as mad as hell.

Sadly, America does not lack flint-hearted bastards. These are the people who remain indifferent to a 10-year-old rape victim who was banned from getting an abortion in her home state, Ohio. And had to go to Indiana to get her medical needs met.

Or a 13-year-old rape victim in Mississippi, who had to give birth to her rapist’s child because the family could not afford to travel to Illinois, the nearest state offering treatment for her forced condition. Let us remember that sex under the age of consent is always rape, barring some ‘close in age’ (aka Romeo and Juliet) legal exceptions. Yet despite this, there are still those who blame the victim.

Aleah’s story Note: the details come from a Washington Post report, CLICK HERE — the paywall should be down. But the commentary is mine. The piece starts: The patient, 36 weeks pregnant, was having mild but frequent contractions.

She had come to the emergency room in this small lakeside town because she was new to the area and had no doctor. In most cases, physician Caitlin Gustafson would have begun a pelvic exam to determine whether labor had started. This time, she called the hospital’s lawyers.

Mom-to-be Aleah was only 13 years old. And under a new Idaho law requiring parental consent for nearly all minors’ health care, Gustafson could be sued for treating her because the girl had been brought in by her great-aunt. That a girl can’t be immediately treated because of a doctor’s fear of legal consequences for doing what is best for a patient is insane.

But the madness is also in the small details. WaPo does not mention — probably because Americans accept this as normal — that the first thing Aleah was probably asked on admittance was “What insurance do you have?” A question most Europeans would find absurd. Regardless, the hospital would have treated her, even without insurance — except for the state parental consent law.

It’s absurd. I’m a parent. By all means, let me know what’s going on.

But if my kid needs potential emergency treatment, give it. Don’t wait for my permission. In Aleah’s case, this parental consent did not come easy.

As WaPo further explains: “What followed were more than two frantic hours of trying to contact Aleah’s mother, who was living in a car, and her grandmother, who was the teen’s legal guardian. The grandmother finally gave verbal consent for the exam — from the Boise-area jail where she was incarcerated on drug charges. Fortunately, it turned out that Aleah’s contractions were a false alarm.

Although, when she returned for a follow-up a few days later the incarcerated grandmother had to give consent again. Finally, Anna Karren, Aleah’s great-aunt, who had brought her in originally, got power of attorney (POA) from the grandma. And Aleah received the medical attention she needed until she gave birth.

Note: Aleah had been living with an aunt three hours south until the woman was threatened with eviction. That’s when Karren, a construction worker at a ski resort, got a panicked call. She had not been in touch with Aleah’s grandmother — her sister — for some time.

The POA that had given Karren the authority to make decisions for Aleah, also allowed her to consent to treatment for the new baby. However, in an Orwellian irony, that permission was unnecessary. Aleah, as the mother, even though she couldn't make medical decisions for herself, could make them for her child.

BTW, in case you are wondering, the father is another teenager — who is in juvenile detention. The big picture Make no mistake, there are many people in Idaho — including physicians, therapists, adolescent advocates, school officials and some law enforcement authorities — who have called out the law as “misguided and dangerous.” But religiously motivated, sanctimonious legislators are impervious to humanity, empathy, and common sense.

And those are the callous bastards who pass these sociopathic laws The paper goes on: Critics say the law — which also grants parents access to minors’ health records, doing away with confidentiality that providers and teen advocates call crucial — ignores the reality that parents aren’t always present or trustworthy. Three months after its implementation, they contend it is hindering adolescents’ ability to access counseling, limiting evidence collection in sexual assault cases and causing schools to seek parental permission to treat scrapes with ice packs and Band-Aids. I am not saying that parents should be barred from having any say in their teenage children’s medical care.

But what happened to granting school authorities and medical personnel some “in loco parentis” leeway? There are some things teens need to ‘bounce off’ an adult they trust because some subjects are hard to talk with parents about. Imagine the stress of being an LGBTQ kid with homophobic parents. They don’t have to be religious fundatists.

It’s bad enough if Dad tells gay/lesbian jokes. Or Mom criticizes one child for being a ‘tomboy’ or pushes another to play sports when they would rather sew. Children can be reticent to talk to the most broad-minded parents — who may not be as broad-minded as they think.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a phase.” Not all Republicans are thoughtless.

S tate Rep. Marco Erickson (R), a youth organizer, said in an email to WaPo: “It has been a terrible bill with terrible outcomes for the youth, especially those who are the victims of their parents’ abuse. I have seen youth not want to participate in therapy for fear their abuser would gain access to what they are talking about.

I tried to warn my fellow legislators ...

but I was one Republican voice among a group of people who do not understand how things work on the ground.” But Erickson’s concern and compassion only went so far. This SOB voted for the bill anyway (reluctantly).

The bigger picture Do laws giving parents absolute rights over their children lead to the best outcome for every child? Hardly. Some parents are not good at parenting. And children raised by those parents — or one of those parents, or a grandparent, or an aunt, or have been in multiple foster homes separated from their six siblings (see Aleah) have a steeper climb to becoming, themselves, good parents.

Conservatives are always banging the table to declaim that a mother and father together raising children is the ideal. Yet how are kids supposed to know that — or that children raised by same-sex parents have positive outcomes — if these same people keep passing laws banning trained adults from educating the children of ill-informed parents? Comprehensive sex education should be mandatory in schools. And that should stress the huge burden of single-parenting and teenage pregnancy.

Relationship counseling should go hand-in-hand with free contraception. You don't have to sleep with someone to prove your love for them. But if you do want to sleep with them, here’s how you do it safely — with minimum long-term consequences in the form of a kid or an STD.

Legislators should pass laws that benefit every citizen no matter what age. Not laws to promote a personal religious agenda. Pregnant women who want to give birth are dying because doctors are too scared to treat complications from pregnancy.

And girls who shouldn't be pregnant are because legislators are sacrificing common sense to religious fundamentalism. They can call it “parental rights.” But these godawful people don’t give a shit about parents any more than they give a shit about children.

Or children giving birth to children. Conservatives will never cure this circle of futility. Liberals have a chance.

But only if they win elections — federal and state..