She Wasn't Ready for Children...

Question 1

Jane’s Due Process

Answer 1

An organization that helps minors navigate judicial bypass

Question 2

Judicial bypass

Answer 2

A process in which an underage pregnant teen can ask a judge to grant them the right to an abortion without notifying their parents or legal guardians. Date back to a1979 Supreme Court case, Bellotti v. Baird, in which the court declared Massachusetts’ parental-involement law unconstitutional.

Question 3

High-risk pregnancy

Answer 3

Where the mother or the fetus has an increased risk of adverse outcomes compared to uncomplicated pregnancies

Question 4

Main Points

Answer 4

• If a minor chooses not to involve a parent, they must prove to a judge that they are mature and well-informed enough to make a decision to abort
• In many counties, teenagers who try to file petitions find courts that are unprepared or biased; judges usually issue denials or try to persuade teenagers to carry their pregnancy to term
• Aside from parental-involvement laws and court biases, teenagers are already disadvantaged from the start

Question 5

Relationship between early childbearing and poverty

Answer 5

Liberals and conservatives came to believe that curbing teenage pregnancy would improve the economic lives of young women and cut costs for the government. People already thought that being pregnant at an early age would send them straight to poverty and doom their future.
However, this association is not true.

Rather, many of these pregnant teens are already living in poverty; therefore teenage motherhood isn’t the root cause but rather an indicator of poverty. Causes these teenagers to be pushed into motherhood earlier than they want to.