Proposition 73, California May Become 35th State to require Parental Notification

California will be voting on a new Constitutional amendment regarding parental notification. This from SFGate.com:

The constitutional amendment would require a doctor who is going to perform an abortion on an unmarried minor to notify in writing at least one parent or guardian 48 hours in advance of the procedure. Parents don't have to give their consent, they just have to be notified.

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, California has a big problem with abortions. Of course, SFGate.com evidently doubts their credentials, by pointing out the lack of statistics for the state.

The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a not-for-profit New York corporation that studies sexual and reproductive issues, estimates that one in four pregnancies in California is ended with an abortion.

But that's far from precise, because California is one of three states that don't keep statistics on abortions.

The San Francisco Chronicle will be publishing a series on Proposition 73 and has provided a valuable breakdown.

Proposition 73

-- What it would do: Doctors who perform abortions would have to give written notification to at least one parent of an unmarried minor, 17 years old or younger, at least 48 hours before the procedure. A minor could avoid the parental notification by getting a waiver from a juvenile court judge.

-- The politics behind it: The parental notification measure has been a long time getting to the ballot. A 1987 state law required minors to have their parents' consent before getting an abortion, but it never took effect. In 1997, the state Supreme Court tossed the law out, saying it violated a minor's right to privacy.

-- Who supports it: Traditional Values Coalition, California Conference of Bishops and the California Republican Assembly. The largest financial backer, at $1.2 million in cash and loans, is James Holman, publisher of the San Diego Weekly and a string of Catholic newspapers.

-- Who opposes it: California Medical Association, California Nurses Association and Planned Parenthood, the largest contributor on the "no" side.

Of course, The San Francisco Chronicle evidently does not find it newsworthy the fact that the largest contributor to the "no" side is also the one organization that has the most to lose from a reduction in abortions--Planned Parenthood. One would think that the caring people at Planned Parenthood would be interested in reducing abortions--Not!

Let me be clear--this is not nearly enough. I do agree that more needs to be done to reduce pregnancies, but the same people that are asking for this are the ones that will oppose abstinence education. The fact is that people need to accept responsibility for their actions. The fact is that when you have sex, the natural design is that the woman tends to get pregnant. The fact is that the consequences and effects of an abortion are far worst than the struggle and difficulties of having an unplanned pregnancy.

Women are being deceived into thinking that an abortion is a way out, when in fact is only a deeper and more troubling path to take.

Tags: Politics, Reproductive Rights, Supreme Court, Religion, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life.