Mother says school arranged abortion

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SEATTLE, March 24 (UPI) -- A Seattle mother says she is furious her daughter's high school health center facilitated an abortion for the girl during school hours and did not tell her.

The mother, identified only as "Jill," says the clinic kept the information "confidential," KOMO-TV, Seattle, reported Wednesday.

In signing a health consent form, Jill assumed it meant her 15-year-old could go to the Teen Health Center at Ballard High School for minor ailments, a sports physical, and even birth control, but not for help ending a pregnancy, she said.

"She took a pregnancy test at school at the teen health center," Jill said. "Nowhere in this paperwork does it mention abortion or facilitating abortion."

Her daughter was given a pass, put in a taxi and sent to have an abortion during school hours without the family being notified, KOMO reported.

A spokesman for the King County Health Department, which administers the school-based programs, says while parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's health care, informing them is not mandatory.

"At any age in the state of Washington, an individual can consent to a termination of pregnancy," T.J. Cosgrove said.