Calif. Poll Shows Growing Support For Parental Notification Law, Support For Family Planning

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 02 Mar 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Most Californians support a state law requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortions, according to a poll recently released by the Public Policy Institute, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports. According to the AP/Mercury News, the poll reveals an overall shift in Californians' attitudes toward abortion restrictions. The poll -- which surveyed 2,502 California residents, including 1,050 parents with children younger than age 18 -- found that 68% of all adults favored a parental notification law, regardless of their political party, region, race or ethnicity. In addition, the survey found that 61% of Californians oppose abortion restrictions, down from 71% in 2000. Those who support abortion restrictions increased over the same period from 27% to 35% (Thompson, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 2/26).

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the poll is the largest study since 2005 to examine Californians' views on abortion and family planning. The poll's findings do not align with recent statewide elections, in which voters three times struck down ballot measures for a parental notification law. The latest ballot measure in 2008 was defeated by the narrowest margin compared with previous measures, with 48% in favor and 52% against, the Mercury News reports (Ostrom, San Jose Mercury News, 2/25).

Mark Baldassare, president and survey director of the Public Policy Institute of California, said, "When it's reached the ballot box, it's been framed as a political issue and a partisan issue," adding, "There tends to be a significant drop-off among Democratic voters when they get to the polls" (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 2/26). Baldassare said that while most Californians are against abortion restrictions, they are not opposed to restrictions "to the degree that they were in 2000."

The Mercury News reports that the poll's "wide discrepancy with the most recent election results suggest that although Californians agree with the concept, when it comes to voting, they are influenced by political advertising, education campaigns and which groups are backing and opposing the measure." Baldassare said that three factors that explain the increase in support for abortion restrictions are the state's growing population of Hispanics; the focus on the gay marriage ban on the 2008 ballot that increased public awareness of social issues; and the fact that ballot measure authors often change each succeeding measures to gain more support (San Jose Mercury News, 2/25).

The survey also revealed that there is strong support among voters for sex education in schools, with 90% favoring the approach. In addition, 70% said that they support government-funded birth control for teenagers, and 79% support family planning programs for low-income residents (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 2/26).

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