Should parents be charged when

libby73

Curious if anyone thinks parents should be charged with neglect when girls under the age of 16 become pregnant, specifically girls that are 12 or 13.  An amber alert was issued in my state today for a 12 year old that was 9 months pregnant.  Odds are this girl became pregnant at 11.  I can not even imagine being pregnant at that age.

The girl was found with her step dad and I can't help but wonder if she is carrying his child 

franciscaz

I dunno, kids do a lot of things like ditch school and stuff like that.  If there is evidence the parents could have prevented it, maybe.  But I would be worried about charging just any parent.

femmeftle9

libby73:

Curious if anyone thinks parents should be charged with neglect when girls under the age of 16 become pregnant, specifically girls that are 12 or 13.  An amber alert was issued in my state today for a 12 year old that was 9 months pregnant.  Odds are this girl became pregnant at 11.  I can not even imagine being pregnant at that age.

The girl was found with her step dad and I can't help but wonder if she is carrying his child 

I think a blanket law like that makes for one hell of a slippery slope. However, if it can be done on a case-by-case basis, then I would be for it (particularly if the father of the child is an adult). If the father is a peer of the child, then that falls into the "gray matter" area for me.

 

ShanJosh777

Would the parents of the boy also be charged if he was under 16?

userdeleted

I think that every case is unique. I'm sure there are some situations where the pregnancy is the direct result of neglect and at such a young age, yes, I can see how sometimes parents should be held responsible.

I won't just say that all parents of young girls who get pregnant should be charged with something though. It really just depends. 

abrtpk1

libby73:

Curious if anyone thinks parents should be charged with neglect when girls under the age of 16 become pregnant, specifically girls that are 12 or 13.  An amber alert was issued in my state today for a 12 year old that was 9 months pregnant.  Odds are this girl became pregnant at 11.  I can not even imagine being pregnant at that age.

The girl was found with her step dad and I can't help but wonder if she is carrying his child 

So sad. we live in the area as well...and My H said the same thing...my guess is that the chances are good

mdlw07

I don't know about charging parents. Think about it....when you are 12+ there are plenty of hours out of the day your parents are not in control of you, ecspecially when you are suppose to be in school. I'm not sure I'm a fan of charging the parents. I think everything is situational. I think you'd be shocked to find out how many kids ages 12/13 are having sex (and not with their parents).

jenifairies

No.

However, I had some legal classes taught by a juvenile court judge (he also had foster kid cases) and he said that almost every child in there had been abused, and a good number of those were sexual abuse. He said that almost every female in there (and most of those girls were pregnant or had babies) had been sexually abused too.

IMO, children at that age who become pregnant were failed in some way by their parents, whether it was intentional abuse or just plain stupidity. The whole thing is just so sad.

Tangent coming: we toured the holding blocks and sat in on some cases. There was a NINE year old boy in there for molesting his younger sister. He had been abused by multiple family members. It's just so friggin sickening. He was just a baby himself. Ugh.

wareto

Rach03k:

I think that every case is unique. I'm sure there are some situations where the pregnancy is the direct result of neglect and at such a young age, yes, I can see how sometimes parents should be held responsible.

I won't just say that all parents of young girls who get pregnant should be charged with something though. It really just depends. 

I agree with this 100%. Some kids will do everything they can to get around their parents and do what they want. Like the kids who have sex in school that's definitely not the parent's fault.

Monkeybuttwhat

No.

Would you want to be sent to jail for your kid ditching school and having sex at 12?

libby73

Monkeybuttwhat:

No.

Would you want to be sent to jail for your kid ditching school and having sex at 12?

  It's tough.  I guess I keep hearing more and more about 12-13 year olds getting pregnant now days which is just so sad   Husband works in our local school system and each year there are more and more pregnant girls turning up in middle school and I'm talking 6th grade. 

mamamoos

jenifairies:

Tangent coming: we toured the holding blocks and sat in on some cases. There was a NINE year old boy in there for molesting his younger sister. He had been abused by multiple family members. It's just so friggin sickening. He was just a baby himself. Ugh.

ugh.  OMG, this made me ill....those poor babies....

Monkeybuttwhat

libby73:

Monkeybuttwhat:

No.

Would you want to be sent to jail for your kid ditching school and having sex at 12?

  It's tough.  I guess I keep hearing more and more about 12-13 year olds getting pregnant now days which is just so sad   Husband works in our local school system and each year there are more and more pregnant girls turning up in middle school and I'm talking 6th grade. 

There were pregnant girls at my middle school growing up. Honestly it is not a new thing . When you say it is tough you are saying you think you would be ok about going to jail because your daughter got pregnant?

LittleApple

Monkeybuttwhat:

No.

Would you want to be sent to jail for your kid ditching school and having sex at 12?

 Ditto this.  Do you know how many children would be on foster care if we had a law like this?!