L.A. Times Opinion Pieces Examine Experiences Of States With Parental Notification Laws

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 27 Oct 2008 - 3:00 PST

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The Los Angeles Times on Thursday continued a discussion from Wednesday on Proposition 4 -- a California ballot measure that would require health care providers to notify a minor's parent or legal guardian at least 48 hours before providing abortion services to the minor -- with two opposing opinion pieces. Thursday's opinion pieces responded to the questions: "What has been the experience of states that have parental notification laws?" and "How dangerous are abortions for minors?" Summaries of the opinion pieces follow.

~ Katie Short: Short -- co-author of Proposition 4 and legal director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation -- writes that the Wednesday opinion piece by Miriam Gerace -- a spokesperson for the No on 4 Campaign for Teen Safety and director of communications for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles -- included a "statement [that] is without any factual support" when Gerace said that "California's teen pregnancy rate has dropped dramatically." According to Short, California does not collect data on abortions and "without data on abortion, there is no way to know what the teen pregnancy rate is." She adds that what "we do know is that parental involvement laws reduce teen pregnancy rates." Short writes that of the 16 states without "true parental involvement laws, 12 of them are among the 13 states with the highest teen abortion rates" and that the 13 states with the lowest teen abortion rates in the country all have parental involvement laws. Short writes, "In the face of this data, which comes from Planned Parenthood's own research arm, the correlation between parental involvement laws and lower teen abortion rates is indisputable." Decreased abortion rates "also mean fewer young girls face the abortion-related risks they are particularly prone to," such as laceration and uterine perforation, and emotional risks like substance abuse, attempted suicide or difficulty with relationships, Short writes. Short concludes that "parental notification laws like Prop. 4 have a proven track record of protecting teens and lowering teen pregnancy rates without any danger or harm to girls" (Short, Los Angeles Times, 10/23).

~ Miriam Gerace: Gerace writes that Short "overlooked something basic" in her opinion piece on Wednesday. "Lower teen pregnancy rates mean lower abortion rates," Gerace writes, adding that it is "that simple, and no barrage of numbers [Short] recite[s] can change that fact." California's teen birth rate experienced a "dramatic" 54% drop from 46 births per 1,000 teens to 21 births per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 17 between 1992 and 2005, Gerace writes, adding, "Sensible people know that it can be attributed to medically accurate, comprehensive sex education that includes information on abstinence and birth control methods along with access to family planning services." The decrease in teen birth rates, according to Gerace, "certainly cannot be attributed to the dangerous and ineffective forced notification measures or abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that [Short] would support." Short's argument, however, does "[steer] us in the direction of considering real solutions from the real world that will work with real teens," according to Gerace. She writes that it is "nonsensical to think" that teens would "consult the law before initiating sexual activity" and that "common sense dictates that we try to prepare them with accurate information and prevention tools so that they can be safe." Gerace concludes, "California leads the nation in efforts to prevent unintended pregnancies. We've done that by living in the real world where sex education and health care access are the keys to prevention" (Gerace, Los Angeles Times, 10/23).

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