24. Town meeting 2006

The parental notification advisory article has been petitioned and accepted in these Vermont towns:

Barton, Berkshire, Chester, Clarendon, Coventry, Enosburg, Fairfield, Ira, Mendon, Milton, Montgomery, Moretown, Newport City, Newport Town, Richford, Sheldon, St. Albans City, St. Albans Town, Stockbridge, Sutton, Underhill, Waterford, West Rutland, Westfield, Westmore, Windsor



Some Facts About Abortion And Minors In Vermont:

There are no restrictions on the practice of abortion in Vermont, including when minors are involved. Despite some success in 2001, it is still legal in Vermont for an abortion to be performed on a minor girl without her parents’ knowledge or consent, no matter how young she might be.

Many, if not most, abortions in Vermont are performed by non-physicians.

The abortion can proceed even though the abortion provider cannot obtain the child’s medical history without involving at least one parent.

The state-funded Dr. Dynasaur and Medicaid programs pay for abortions—even for minor girls—and the state does not notify parents.

Minors need parental consent in Vt. for ear-piercing, for field trips, for taking Tylenol at school, to obtain a driver’s license, to get a tattoo, or for any surgery other than abortion.

72 percent of Vermonters favor a law to require that a parent be notified before a minor girl has an abortion. (Wirthlin Worldwide poll, January 2000)

If a minor girl is a victim of abuse, a secret abortion and a return to the situation only compound her physical and emotional problems.

Abortions were performed on 112 minors in Vermont in 2003, many without parental knowledge, many performed by non-physicians, many involving surgical procedures. Some young girls were given the RU-486 abortion pill.