University student testifies on abortion before state legislature
Erica Shein '04, one of a few teenagers who testified at yesterday's New Jersey state assembly meeting, said she experienced nervous excitement while defending her emphatic belief that minors should have the right to seek abortions without parental consent.Up for discussion was an initiative that requires parents of minors to be notified of all medical procedures, including abortion, performed on their children.The initiative ? which may appear on the November 2001 ballot if approved by the state assembly ? is opposed by many pro-choice activists, including Shein."The point I was trying to make was that maturity and responsibility and wisdom do not have anything to do with age," Shein said.Susan Wilson, executive director of the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers University, introduced Shein and two New Jersey high school students who also testified before the assembly.




