Respect and Parents' rights

I was absolutely delighted today to hear that Mrs Axon, a parent of teenage daughters, is taking the government to the High Court over its guidelines that allow doctors to advise and perform abortions on teenage girls without parent's consent.

Many of you will know that I have always vehemently opposed these absurd guidelines. The government talks about encouraging respect, especially amongst the young, yet they allow children to totally bypass their parents over what will be a physically and mentally traumatic decision.

As a father, I am only too well aware of the absurdity of the situation created by this government. My little girls' nursery cannot administer Calpol if they develop a temperature unless their mother or I give specific signed approval. Similarly they cannot use a sticky plaster on a cut. If my girls were 14, they could not have their tonsils or appendix removed without signed parental consent. Yet when it comes to advise on contraception, (including the Pill), sexually transmited diseases or abortions, parents can be kept totally in the dark. This undermines the rights of parents and breaks down the whole psychological support structure of the family unit.

There may be a small number of cases where it would be detrimental to the youngs girl's well-being for the parents to know she had become pregnant, but that is not a justification for over-riding every parent and family.

I just hope Mrs Axon wins her case, but even if she doesn't, at least she has brought this ridiculous example of excessive government interference into family life to the front pages.