Teen Vogue Now Coaching Minors on How to Get Abortions 'Regardless' of Parents’ Beliefs
The girls’ magazine Teen Vogue recently published an article that coaches its audience on how to get an abortion without their parents knowing.
The columnist, Nona Willis Aronowitz, wrote a response to a nervous, pregnant 16-year-old, starting with, “Having access to abortion should be your right, regardless of your parents’ beliefs.”
Then Aronowitz got down to the nitty-gritty.
“If you live in one of the handful of states in which a minor can get an abortion without parental involvement — and if you don’t want to tell your parents — you’re all set,” Aronowitz told a girl too young to buy a cigarette or vote or buy alcohol.
But what the author did next is shocking. Aronowitz began to walk this young girl through how to think about getting an abortion in a state that doesn’t allow it to be done without a parent’s consent.
“If the law does require that your parents are involved, it’s time for some soul-searching about how you think they’ll react when confronted directly with their pregnant child’s desire to not be,” Aronowitz advised.
She then attempted to allay her readers’ concerns by telling them “anti-abortion Americans often get abortions.”
Rather than give any possibility that the moral construct of the parents might be wise or that it might be prudent for a child to obey even if she doesn’t agree, Aronowitz wrote, “You know those activists who stand outside clinics holding signs adorned with Bible verses and pictures of fetuses? Even they sometimes get abortions.”
In the end, after quoting an expert who advised children to talk to their parents, Aronowitz gave specific, step-by-step instruction on how to get an abortion without talking to parents. The method, called “judicial bypass,” allows a judge to override the requirement for parental consent depending on the testimony received from the child.
What Aronowitz didn’t say, however, is just as concerning.
She didn’t say “consider life.” She didn’t say, “consider adoption.” She didn’t say, “Talk to your parents about why they might be opposed to abortion.”
The author’s assumption is that this pregnant 16-year-old knows best and any advice that might strike at the foundation of the teen’s thinking should be avoided altogether.
I understand that Aronowitz writes for a teen magazine and that means she doesn’t have to be respectful to the traditional values of an American home and to the parental authorities within. In fact, it probably means the opposite.
But Teen Vogue is no stranger to inviting disrespect into the abortion debate. Last year, I wrote how that magazine had promoted a comedy troupe whose sole purpose was to make abortion jokes. The magazine highlighted a traveling comedy show by the Lady Parts Justice League — “a team of comedians, writers, and producers that uses humor to destigmatize abortion.”
To the culture commentators of the left, parents are to be avoided, death is a punchline and life is an inconvenience.
While I hope that young pregnant teen finds her way, I doubt she will discover it in the pages of Teen Vogue.
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