4. All women under the age of 18 seeking the termination of a pregnancy are required to attend a 90 minute counseling session that covers the actual procedure, the risk involved, how to handle an abortion and maintain mental and physical health, and alternative options to abortion such as adoption.
1. The course must respect the students’ right to privacy.
One of these provisions will have to be removed to resolve the inherent contradiction. I would recommend the former.
(
Unless the former provision is not taking place at the school, in which case I have to wonder exactly why mandatory counseling is included in a bill about public school sex education. Also, will pupils under 18 who opt for adoption be required to undergo mandatory counseling where they will be notified of the potential physical and mental risks involved in continuing the pregnancy?)
