Washington Post published an article the other day in Idaho about a pregnant 13-year-old, a state that passed a stupid law prohibiting medical personnel from treating minors without parental consent.

Thinking that she might be in labor, the child went to the emergency room with her great aunt; Here, all the medical staff could do was take care of him and call the hospital’s lawyers.

Now you know why legislators in Idaho passed this law, and I know it too. The love child of a group known as. Alliance Defending FreedomA group of conservative Christians who feed off the fantasy that their sons will one day come home from school and call themselves Shirley.

they oppose abortionThey fear their daughter might have access to birth control and, according to their website, “advocate for laws and precedents that promote human flourishing by recognizing the significant differences between men and women and honoring God’s design for marriage between one man and one woman. ”

You know, that’s perfectly fine. They can marry or not marry whomever they want. They can crown the husband the head of the house.

What they shouldn’t be allowed to do is make laws that tell the rest of us who to love and how to live. And they certainly shouldn’t be able to interfere with medical treatment in the emergency room.

Because here’s a flash: Not every family sits in the kitchen praying or spending time on Bible study before meals. America allows everyone to be a Christian, but America is not a Christian country. Do you see the difference?

NO? Everyone may be a Muslim in America, but this is not a Muslim country. Is it open now?

The 13-year-old boy in the Post’s story had an absent father, a mother living in her car, and six scattered siblings. As the teenagers said, the baby’s father was in juvenile detention center. The boy — and yes, he is a 13-year-old boy — had lived in foster homes and halfway houses. Her grandmother was recently her legal guardian, but the grandmother was in jail at the time the girl went to the emergency room.

Yes, that’s the reality of how some kids grow up.

Eventually the hospital convinced prison officials to put the grandmother on the phone so she could give verbal consent for the child’s treatment, but not until that poor child sat there in fear and pain for over two hours.

Good job, Idaho. Good job, ultra-conservatives.

The article says that the Alliance Defending Freedom persuaded six other states to pass similar ridiculous laws. Teachers and other school staff say the rules are so strict they’re afraid to put a Band-Aid on a child’s skinned knee.

And—it’s no surprise—this draconian law requires a minor to obtain parental consent for birth control, mental health care, and treatment for drug use and sexual abuse.TI’s.

This child/mother lived in my brain all week. This child, this child, now bears the responsibility of another person, a girl. He hasn’t been to school since seventh grade, since last spring. Her sister, who is her grandmother’s new legal guardian, was rumored to be considering online school.

He is a child. She should be cheering in the stands at football games and meeting her friends at the skating rink on Friday nights.

Instead, we expect her to act and think like a grown woman.

Stay tuned for the hard part of this Idaho nightmare: Since the 13-year-old is a parent, he can make all the medical decisions for his daughter. However, as a 13-year-old, if he wants to see a doctor for his own health care, he must get permission from his legal guardian.

Welcome to America. Do we really want to live like this?

: Nancy ESHELMAN: [email protected]