What Rights Does a 17 Year Old Have If Shes Pregnant in California

Rights to what? Keep her baby and raise it? Not finish high school? Go on welfare? Ask her parents to raise it? Give it up for adoption? Get an abortion? Be a single mom? Be dirt poor? Do a terrible job raising an unwanted baby? Step up to the plate and do a wonderful job raising a baby she didn't know she'd have at such a young age? Become a statistic? Defy the odds?

She has the right to do all the above. She also had the right to use birth control, study hard and get a job. What other rights do you want to know about?

IamA.Kat is exactly right. In California you should be able to find a Planned Parenthood near you to go to. You do not need parental consent. They can provide whatever care and support you need and be with you every step of the way. It is free of charge. Please dont listen to judgmental comments that are not said with love.

Please go and find your nearest Planned Parenthood. They are there to help. They can provide medical care including pre-natal checkups, they can provide counseling and help with any legal rights and programs she may qualify for. Planned Parenthood does so much more than just provide abortions to those women who need them. If she wants to put the child up for adoption they can help her, if she wants to keep the baby and raise it they can help her with that as well.

well, she has lots of rights. i'm not sure which ones you mean specifically.
to keep it brief, she has the right to go to planned parenthood and get help. they will help her get an abortion, or to stay healthy while she grows the baby and puts it up for adoption, or to put together a plan to move out and keep the baby if that's what she wants.
the help they will offer does not mean that any of these choices will be easy. but they'll help her figure it out.
hopefully the rightwing nutcases haven't managed to shut down the planned parenthood offices in her area.
khairete
S.

What a mess. Two teenagers and pregnant. It's too bad your friend and her boyfriend weren't smarter.

She needs money to get medical care. She needs money to move out. If her parents are unwilling to help, she could end up on the streets.

Your friend needs to see life for what it really is. This boy is not going to support this baby. If she is not willing to end the pregnancy, she should give the baby up for adoption.

What sort of rights is she looking for?
Additional:
She should talk to a womens shelter and plan on living on her own and being independent from her parents.
I assume she will apply for welfare.
It would be nice if she could finish her education or get a GED so she can earn more money when she gets a job.
She's got a lot of growing up to do and a relatively short 9 months to do it in.
In the mean time, not having any more sex before she gets on some reliable birth control would be a good idea.

While she is thinking this through, she should start focusing on prenatal care: prenatal vitamins, eliminating cigarettes, alcohol and other substances which would effect the baby. Planned Parenthood can help her with all this. She should also register on http://www.babycenter.com which will tell her all about development during her pregnancy and there after.

Pregnancy brings physical changes...not only changes in the way a woman looks but how she feels. If she begins developing nausea, morning sickness, aversion to strong odors, it will become evident to her mother that she doesn't have a cold or the flu. Consequently, even if she is fearful that her parents will kick her out, she should get some sort of plan in order before her pregnancy becomes apparent.

The bottomline: She shouldn't wait around to see Planned Parenthood. She wants to know her options ASAP.

I don't care how old you are, the moment you get pregnant is the moment you become a mother and that means that you are now the SECOND priority in your life. She was immature to conceive this innocent child and what you describe in your post points to continued immaturity and selfishness.

This is no longer about her or her parents. This is now about her doing what's best for her unborn child. If she can't provide for it, food, housing, clothing, education, medical care, she needs to seriously consider an abortion or adoption. Either way, her next move needs to include as much support as she can get, which includes telling her parents and starting prenatal care. If she's afraid her parents will kick her out then that is just another piece of this that she will need to manage. She chose the behavior and now she has a lifetime of consequences she's chosen to manage.

I know I seem harsh but this monumental myopic selfishness boils my blood.

That poor baby. S.

Okay, she needs some education.

1) She's not "a week pregnant" - she may have known for a week, but she needs a serious medical appointment to figure out when she conceived and when she would deliver a baby if, in fact, she chooses to continue the pregnancy.
2) She can go to a Planned Parenthood clinic without informing her parents. She can call the PP 800 number to get a referral to a PP clinic or another similar clinic in her area.
3) She needs good counseling on her options. If she wants to have a baby, she needs to grow up overnight and start the process for taking care of her body for right now, and getting everything in place for prenatal medical care for herself and later medical/pediatric care for a future baby, as well as serious financial support going forward (welfare, WIC, subsidized housing, job training, SNAP, more). She can start with Planned Parenthood and then get referrals in her town and also for state services.
4) Thinking her parents aren't going to find out is naive.
5) She can get a job but she needs to realize that she will lose time when she delivers a baby. She needs to learn about employment law, what's allowed, what they can ask in an interview and what they can't, what she should say in an interview and what she shouldn't.
6) The boy who got her pregnant, since he's her best friend, should ideally be involved. He needs to get a job and start a serious savings plan for supporting a friend and child. Both need to learn their legal rights and obligations. She's going to need money right now, not just down the line.
7) She should get into a support group for teen mothers who think that having a baby is super fun and all about the love and cuddles and cute baby clothes, and get some real training on childrearing, infant first aid, and budgeting. She can find sources for used baby clothes and equipment, etc. Nobody should be devoting any time to a baby shower for her - she needs serious economic support and not cute outfits.
8) She also needs testing for STDs - yes, it's her best friend, and yes, everyone always swears they've been with no one else, but really, she needs to grow up and be completely responsible.
9) Sorry, but she really needs to look at ALL her options - abortion, adoption, single motherhood. They are all difficult options and she needs a super open mind to investigate and make an informed choice. She's a teen and may be looking at things as a teen, but it's about to get super difficult and she needs to wise up and get with supportive adults to help her.

Does she want to keep the baby? Does she have a job or family money, financial resources to help raise the baby? Does she know who the father is? How old is the father, does he have a job? What "rights" is she hoping to make use of?

ETA: You say the father is "unknown". Well, I would advise her to start going through the list of possible fathers (I am not judging how many boys are on the list) and have a conversation with ANY POSSIBLE father. Just to be on the same page with him. Before she collects child support money from him.

ETAA: The father is known!! Even better. What a sad coincidence that he moved away two days ago (as soon as she realized she was pregnant?). I hope he is ready to pony up (and, that phrase does not in fact mean "buy her a pony", although when I was 17 I would've been totally excited to get a pony). Your friend needs to have an honest conversation with the father. This baby is going to impact upon both of them. If possible, get his parents involved, even if she can't get her parents involved.... Keep us posted....

I truly hope that if you decide to share with your parents your pregnancy status, that the last thing they'll want to do is to displace you. If they follow through with that, just know that there are helpful options, shelters and groups to reach out to.

Also, please stay in school. Please. If you have a guidance counselor, seek him or her for encouragement in completing high school. Especially because school has just begun and in 9 months it'll be over, coinciding with your due date most likely.

You NEED vitamins asap. So make sure you go to PP or another clinic to seek medical attention. Of course you want to make sure both you and baby are well.

Lastly, make sure you follow through on everything that's important. Time will move quickly and the sooner you make your plan, the better.

Wishing you well.

She can have an abortion without notifying her parents (or anyone else for that matter) and there is no waiting period (at least as of December 2015). If she chooses to continue the pregnancy and will be 18 when the baby is born, she can keep it or give it up no matter what her parents say. Now - they certainly don't need to support her (or the baby) financially if she chooses to keep the baby.

Was your friend raped? Or does she really have that many partners that she doesn't know who the father is?

She needs medical care and support. She needs to be on vitamins. She should tell a teacher, school nurse or another trusted adult so they can help her get the help she needs.

Best of luck.

Any kid has the right to see a doc by themselves. If they have the money to pay for it out of pocket then I imagine they wouldn't even have to tell anyone. I would think that a teen is more able to do this than any other age though. The doc always asks my grand kids if they want me to stay or go.

As for being a week pregnant. Really? I didn't know you could tell that soon. SO I'm confused.

If she's just a week pregnant then she would be due around graduation.

If she is in danger, truly at risk from her parents rath then she needs to find a family she can stay with and that would support her in going to an alternative school where she can graduate on time. She absolutely needs to finish high school. She will have that hanging over her head her whole life and it's just not worth it to drop out due to being pregnant.

As for her parents. Once she is 18 they can't tell her if she can keep the baby or not. They won't have that right anymore. \

If she wants to go to court and be emancipated she can also do that. In her situation I think that might be the thing to discuss with an attorney.

Being emancipated means her parents wouldn't be responsible for giving her anything, not food, shelter, car, phone, gasoline, insurance, nothing. She would be an adult out living on her own.

If there are shelters in the area for pregnant women or teens or even families they could be places of refuge for her.

She can apply for food stamps, WIC to get food for herself now and after the baby is born she can get formula then when it's a year old she can get other foods. She can get child care assistance so she can work full time or go on to college. There isn't anything she won't be able to do that a normal person her age can do.

Many single women go to college while being a mom too. They put their kids in child care and go to school instead of a job. They use their financial aid to pay their bills and buy the things they need. Again, there isn't anything she isn't capable or able to do just because she will have a child.

When someone asks "what rights do I have?" there's usually something or someone who is involved who may be denying her rights, or wondering what help is available for a particular problem. For example, a teen who's pregnant might be living with strict parents who would forbid an abortion, or kick the teen out and disown her, or force the teen to place the child for adoption. Or there might be an abusive boyfriend or maybe even an unknown father. Or there might be a loving, supportive family and daddy but just no money for diapers, car seats, cribs, etc. Or she might not have insurance, money for pre-natal vitamins and checkups, or a way to get to a doctor.

So, what does your friend need? Protection, resources, medical attention? Tell us what her situation is and maybe someone can suggest something.

She should go to Planned Parenthood they can go over everything with her, including her rights, free of charge.
She'll need to have a job for several months to save $ before she can afford to rent a place to live so she can stay with you!

The unknown father was her best friend growing up? She doesn't know her best friend's name?

ETA: What everyone else said - Planned Parenthood appointment, immediately.

She could get welfare and on medi-cal - her parents will be made to pay child support until she's 18. She can definitely get prenatal care without their consent. She is not legally the age of majority so her parents are still responsible for her until her 18th birthday, pregnant or not. She cannot enter into legally binding contracts so she can move out if she has somewhere to go, but her parents can report her as a runaway and she cannot sign a rental agreement or lease.