All parents should be required to attend parenting classes before having a child.

More than half of pregnancies are unintended. (http://www.guttmacher.org...) These classes do provide some valuable information. I stated this in my first round when advocating everyone learn basic child health care and first aid. These classes should be voluntary instead of mandatory. In the U.S. some states require parenting classes for a divorce to proceed. Such a law requiring parenting classes would be unenforceable on ethical grounds. If the punishment should fit the crime what would the punishment be for failing to attend a class when the biology of the matter will still produce a child. Do we as a society take the baby away until such a class is completed? Surely not the punishment would be to harsh for the non-attendance. The requirement is enforceable in situations of divorce because the legal proceedings can be postponed until compliance is met. Our rights as citizens are being eroded away by big government. The right to rear my children as I see fit ((in the scope of not performing an illegal action)) are protected by the 14th amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org...) I would see such a requirement in and of itself as a violation of supreme court ruling protecting the parental rights. Again how could it be enforced while preserving these rights. (http://www.kids-right.org...) "Parents have comparable interests under our state constitutional protections of liberty and privacy rights. "The right to the custody and control of one's child is a fiercely guarded right in our society and in our law. It is a right that should be infringed upon only under the most compelling circumstances." Brooks v. Parkerson Georgia Supreme Court (1995) I see no compelling circumstance to require the classes. Additional education is not compelling. In no more that Driver Education classes are not required prior to applying for a drivers license. Certainly a lot of good information is in such courses and potentially could prevent many accidents. I argue driving kills more people than people having babies. The right to vote is applied to all adults naturalized or born in the U.S. If we review the many court cases and amendments to protect this right, we see the court so the potential abuse of government if voters were subjected to voting tests. The same slippery slope is analogous to government requiring such parenting classes. Where would the funds for mandatory classes come from. funds would be needed for materials and class worker. Consider the national birth rate just for the U.S. (http://www.babycenter.com...) 88 births for 1000 women in Utah. Combine this with 35 births a day. A classroom would have a steady supply of students and need full time support. I could not find any facts to support how much this would cost but given the history of government ran programs I can surmise it would not be cheap. To pass this cost onto the parents would be an exuberant charge for a biological fact of life. What about parents already unable to pay for basic care, Britain just released a news article that a 12 year old gave birth (http://www.independent.co.uk...). Do the tax payers pay for these incidents? The case for requiring parenting classes is unenforceable, unsustainable financially, encroaches on parental rights and is a slippery slope for government control. To those that choose to pay the cost the additional education is worth the price. But this should be voluntary for the masses.