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Originally Posted by merleniau
Considering how hardened I've become to my little sister's screw ups, I'm pretty positive I'd give her the options of a) an abortion, b) giving the child up for adoption, or c) moving out and doing it on her own.
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Out of curiosity, are you talking about giving your sister these options or are you talking about a future daughter?
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Originally Posted by jinnkai
I'd give her the option of either (a) getting an abortion or (b) moving out.
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That may seem like the answer but the thing is, when you give a person (especially a teenager) ultimatums like these then you run the risk of exacerbating the problem. If the teenager wants to keep the child then they will move out and then the situation really gets bad.
Think about the last time someone gave you an ultimatum. Teenagers are not known for their cool-headedness during stressful times.
You can talk all you want about how "it's your house and, therefore, your rules" (I'm not saying that Jinnkai is implying this statement) but the fact is it is a human being you are dealing with-- a fairly mature human being with her own thoughts and ideas. This is not a six-year-old.This is a human being that you have been responsible for for many years. A human being in which you have a considerable amount of emotional, mental, and financial investment.
Say your daughter wants to really keep the baby and the guy with whom she conceived doesn't want to marry her or take care of her (beyond legal responsibilities). Are you really, really going to kick her out and run the risk of producing yet another low-income mom with a child that has no hope for the future?
Have we really produced a society that is so selfish that it would turn its back on its own flesh and blood? It doesn't really take much to help someone out in this situation. Raising a child (even a grand child) is not that difficult.
And yes, abortion may be the correct answer, but you can't force it upon someone. You may be able to exercise your parental rights if the daughter is young enough; but if she really wants to keep the baby then you're just going to ruin your relationship.
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Originally Posted by willravel
Women can get pregnant before they're 13 sometimes.
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Isn't there a story in the news right now about a 10-year-old girl giving birth?
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Originally Posted by willravel
So I have to disagree with this statement being a blanket statement. I would agree if she was 17+, though.
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Yep, and even some 17-year-olds may be emotionally incapable of making a good decision without guidance. All of these scenarios really depend on the kind of girl your daughter turns out to be. Nothing is certain so you can't say with any certainty how you'd react.