Los Angeles Times Examines Calif. Ballot Measure To Require Parental Notification For Minors Seeking Abortions

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Public Health
Article Date: 26 Sep 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday examined Proposition 4, a California ballot measure that would require physicians to notify a parent or adult family member 48 hours before providing abortion services to a minor. The measure would amend the state constitution by barring abortions to minors until at least 48 hours after notification of the minor's parents or an adult family member.

The proposition is similar to two California ballot propositions in 2005 and 2006 that failed to pass. The 2005 measure received about 47% of voter support, and about 46% of state voters favored the 2006 initiative. Revisions to Proposition 4 from the past proposition include allowing an adult family member -- including a grandparent or sibling -- to be notified instead of a parent when the physician reports suspected or known child abuse to law enforcement. Judges also can waive the notification requirement in cases where they find evidence that the minor's maturity is substantial, or if an abortion is in the minor's best interest, such as a medical emergency. Parents also could waive the notification and waiting period through a written note.

Supporters of the proposition include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Jim Holman, publisher of the San Diego Reader, an alternative newspaper. On NBC's "Meet the Press" recently, Schwarzenegger said, "I have two daughters myself. I would not want to have someone in the school take my daughter to a clinic to get an abortion without telling me or my wife."

Opponents of the measure are organized under the group Campaign for Teen Safety. The group, led by Planned Parenthood and California chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, has raised more than $3 million. The group argues that the proposition is dangerous for pregnant minors because it could result in girls seeking unsafe abortions or waiting until late into pregnancy to seek the procedure, the Times reports. ACLU attorney Maggie Crosby said the required parental notification will make girls turn "in desperation" to illegal procedures. Opponents also cite the risk for physicians who violate the measure to incur large civil damages because of potential lawsuits from parents (McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, 9/24).

Editorial

Proposition 4 is "really just the latest attempt to impose any obstacle in the exercise of reproductive freedom" under the "guise of protecting underage girls," a Los Angeles Times editorial says. The editorial adds that the initiative "attempts to solve something that isn't much of a problem" because there is "no evidence that California's teenage girls are harmed by abortions with any frequency, whether or not their parents have been notified." The Times notes that the most recent case of "serious injury that might have been prevented" by Proposition 4 was in the 1980s.

It is "hard to believe that Proposition 4 is chiefly about girls' safety," the editorial says, adding that "girls in potentially abusive situations" must make a "written accusation alleging that [their] parents are repeat child abusers" not to notify their parents. According to the Times, if the initiative passes, "some girls will seek out illegal abortions rather than notify their parents," while some girls "will attempt to hide the pregnancy, go without prenatal care, give birth alone and abandon the newborn." There is no "real evidence" the initiative "would enhance the welfare of the state's teens," the editorial says, concluding that Proposition 4 "deserves defeat" (Los Angeles Times, 9/25).

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