According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, starting June 1, 2022, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act is no longer the law in Illinois. Children under 18 have the same rights as adults to decide who to tell about their abortion. Emergency contraception (EC) is a form of contraception that a person can take up to 120 hours after sex to prevent a pregnancy before it starts. You do not need your parents’ permission to access EC if you are under 18; there are a number of brands of EC you can purchase over the counter at the pharmacy without a prescription or proof of your age.1
When I recently learned that children, as young as 12, can get pregnant and have an abortion without their parent’s consent I was shocked. I’m still shocked and trying to process what this means for so many parents. I started asking myself, “Do most parents know this is true? If so, how were they informed? Do most children know this is true? If so, how were they informed?” There are some women in their 30s and 40s who have struggled with the aftermath of having an abortion and I can’t even imagine how that might affect a 12-year-old girl.
According to The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), Senate Bill 818, enrolled as Public Act 102-0522, was enacted on August 20, 2021. This law requires educators to teach comprehensive sex education that is age, culturally, and developmentally appropriate, medically accurate, complete, inclusive, trauma-informed, and replicates evidence-based or evidence-informed programs.2 These sources reveal that children are being taught this information in schools and parents may not realize it or may have overlooked the notification.
Every parent should understand the information that is taught to their children, and be informed that they have a right to access it. Parents have a right to control all content that is taught to their children. It may require extra steps, administrative requests and time but it’s vital to be aware of the education influencing your children’s decisions. Children are vulnerable and need age-appropriate boundaries. As a parent, it is your choice to allow someone else to make the decision of what’s appropriate for your child at what age or for you to make that decision for your children.
According to the Institute for Family Studies (IFS), with internet access, 93% of boys and 63% of girls report being exposed to internet pornography before the age of 18, with the average age of first exposure being 12 years old. This exposure to pornography is connected to negative developmental outcomes, including a greater acceptance of sexual harassment, sexual activity at an early age, skewed attitudes of gender roles, greater levels of body dissatisfaction, and sexual aggression. Children’s brains are not equipped to process the adult experiences depicted.3 If you are interested in becoming a member and gaining access to our Resource Center ($10/month or $99/annually), visit https://advocatefortheinnocent.org/memberships/ to learn more.
1 – https://www.aclu-il.org/en/youthrepro
2 – https://siecus.org/stateprofiles/illinois-fy21-state-profile/
3 – https://ifstudies.org/blog/what-happens-when-children-are-exposed-to-pornography