Eight million minors in the United States — the richest country in the world — lack health insurance, making it impossible for these young children to get the six check-ups a year recommended by the American Medical Association. A recent attempt to expand SCHIP, the largest health insurance program for children, failed to get the votes necessary to override President Bush’s veto. Meanwhile, Barack Obama, who is relying on the enthusiasm of young people in his bid for the presidency, just released a tax plan with a massive giveaway to retirees.

While it is admirable to allow dignified retirement for America’s seniors and grant them access to prescription drugs and health care, it is telling that we do not allow children growing up in America the same right even though they are far cheaper to insure. This embarrassing failure is perhaps the most recent high-profile example of our government neglecting the rights of minors, but it is far from the only area in which they are lacking.

A 17 year old with impacted and infected wisdom teeth, an excruciatingly painful condition, needs parental consent to have them removed. In the event that parents oppose the surgery (as some do for religious reasons), the only recourse is a court. Even then, unless the minor can prove that her condition is actually life-threatening, she’ll be forced to suffer with it. Similarly, many states have passed parental notification laws restricting the rights of minors to get abortions. These laws not only diminish the chance that they will choose to get abortions, but also endanger the lives of those who are impregnated through incest. The health of young women is jeopardized because they are not believed to be capable of making a decision that thousands of adults can make.

The tragedy of millions of young people left without health care or the right to make basic medical decisions is undeniable, but the criminal justice system is the root of even more shocking abuses. In Ohio, children as young as ten are allowed to waive their right to counsel in interrogations with police officers and guilty pleas can be extracted without parents or lawyers present. False guilty pleas coerced from minors have again and again led to profound human rights abuses. Jeffrey Desckovic, a 16-year-old resident of New York State, confessed to the murder of a classmate after more than six hours of interrogation by police without a lawyer. Despite the fact that the DNA evidence on the victim did not match Desckovic’s, he was convicted. Desckovic spent 15 years in prison before his conviction was overturned through an appeal by The Innocence Project.

In one of many eerily similar cases, 14-year-old Michael Crowe confessed to the murder of his little sister after three days of interrogation by police without parents or a lawyer present. DNA evidence at the scene of the crime eventually led the police to the real killer, a mentally ill homeless man, but not before they used what an expert witness referred to as “psychological torture.”

These egregious policies stem from a lack of political power among the young. College students and other young people lack representation because voter turnout is reduced by restrictive ID laws such as the ones we have in Ohio, which force students to vote by absentee or provisional ballot or not at all. Expanding the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds would give a voice to minors on important issues such as education that are often neglected by lawmakers. It should also get high school students in the habit of voting before they graduate. These policy changes can be made on a state-by-state basis, so if Ohio chooses, it can lead the way in protecting the rights of young people and expanding the democratic process. Any downsides to 16 and 17 year olds voting are far outweighed by the dangers of the status quo: consistent deprivation of youth rights and a chronic lack of investment in or concern with the interests and needs of young people.

Finally, it is vitally important that young people vote at high enough rates that representatives take us seriously. Higher turnout among the 18-30 demographic would have won Ohio for John Kerry, giving us a president whose views on the war, education and college aid are far more in sync with ours. Oberlin students should keep an eye out for voter registration and absentee ballot forms for the 2007 elections, which should be arriving in OCMR boxes soon. As young people who can vote, we have an obligation to make our voices heard for those who are denied their rights and an opportunity to bring our issues to the forefront of public discussions.