Nonsensical: adjective
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Ridiculously impractical or ill advised
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Synonyms: foolish, insane, stupid, lunatic, idiotic, illogical, irrational, zany, senseless, absurd, silly, inane, asinine, harebrained, ridiculous, ludicrous, wild, preposterous
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Well, those and other fill-in-the-blank words came to mind when I caught this March news bite: “Illinois Senate committee moves to repeal parental notification requirements for abortions.”
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Yep, that’s right. Senate Bill 1594 recently passed through the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee. No parental consent needed. It doesn’t matter which side of the religious, moral or political fence you sit on, compared to other issues of parental consent, this makes ze-ro sense. Interesting to note is that the bill would repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, which has only been enforced for six years. Why? Tied up in litigation for 18 years.
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Let’s break down a few comments made by American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois Executive Director, Colleen Connell.
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“Today is a good day for young people across the State of Illinois, as we take an important step to ending the dangerous, forced parental notice law.” Really? It’s a good day when young kids step outside of their familial bond to make life-changing decisions?
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“A young person who does not want to communicate with a parent has a very good reason.” Well, perhaps it’s more appropriate to suggest that these kids may “think” they have a good reason. You know, with several teenage years of life experience under their belts.
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“We need to trust youth in our state to make the health care decisions, without forcing them to risk their health and safety.” Who are these kids trusting to assist them in making the decision? No surprise that over 7,000 signatures have lined up against the bill.
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Now, let’s bring the issue front and center. Current Illinois law makes it illegal for minors to use an indoor tanning bed – nor can they buy cigarettes, alcohol or lottery tickets. They can’t vote in an election (well, not as of this writing). Yet, somehow, there are some folks, elected officials mind you, who believe abortion is less significant than getting a tan? The hypocrisy of these officials is mind-boggling! Righteous indignation comes to mind. Even more significant, we see parental consent moving to outright indoor tanning bans across our country for those 18 and under. You know, because it supposedly makes sense.
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Well, to me (and I trust to you, as well) it does not. You know why? Every day, millions of people weigh the risks and benefits of UV exposure and choose indoor tanning where sessions are delivered in moderation, according to individual skin type and controlled by a timer to minimize the risk of overexposure and sunburn. That’s correct. But do these same folks want to ban kids from swimming pools, lakes, parks, soccer and baseball fields? Of course, not.
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So, Illinois teens can’t make a decision to tan responsibly indoors but can choose to have an abortion without a parent’s consent. Compare the two issues. Does this make sense or is it nonsensical? You be the judge.
