I think it works against the pro-choice cause to call the Texas law "unfortunate," since many polls show voters in many places are in favor of parental notification/consent laws. The Texas law still allows for judicial waivers -- to be sure, not all judges are going to grant them, but that`s another story.

Poor Texas. So many bad things happen in such a wonderful state. I guess I am really blind to the outside, conservative, texas, due to my location (centralized near austin, liberal oasis of the state) and my upbringing (family that never forced political views down my throat. I only began to find out their views as I formulated my own).

Parental consent does nothing but force unwilling CHILDREN into pregnancy, at the hands of those who SHOULD be caring for them.

Its so rediculous.

Aparently our under 18 females are responsible enough to give birth to a child yet are to immature to make decisions on their own about whether or not to give birth.

As a recent parent myself, I'm in agreement that Parental Notification is not bad. My child is my responsiblity. As we all know from High School, we don't have full rights until we turn 21.

I can see both sides, because many many decades ago, I was the sexually active teenage daughter of very devout Catholic pro-life parents, who, needless to say, did not know what I was up to. Had I become pregnant and had they found out, I probably would have been carted away to a convent with bars on the windows to give birth. And I know a very tragic case on the other side, a po-"choice" woman who insisted her pregnant 15-year old abort, even though the girl wanted to have the baby and put it up for adoption. Not every parent should be involved in every child`s decision -- and I do say "child" -- these are not legal adults we`re talking about here, even if they are biologically old enough to be parents themselves.

I will still vote AGAINST the parental notification proposition that will likely be on the ballot in my state this year, but I try to look beyond my personal experience, and I no longer think such laws are as nefarious as I used to. Some of the people pushing parental notification laws are the extremists who want to take ALL choices away. But many that I know are pro-choice parents who just want to be there for their daughter when she makes her decision, and they just want to KNOW.