Alaska Advocates For Parental Notification On Abortion Submit Ballot Initiative Petitions

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 20 Jan 2010 - 4:00 PDT

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Alaskans for Parental Rights on Thursday announced that it has gathered enough signatures for a statewide ballot initiative that would establish a law requiring parental notification for abortions, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Under state rules, sponsors for a ballot initiative must have received signatures from 10% of voters who participated in the last statewide general election, and 7% of the total signatures must be from residents of at least 30 of the state's 40 legislative districts.

Jim Minnery, chair of the campaign and president of the Alaska Family Council, said that the group had met both requirements. The group, as of Thursday, had collected enough signatures in 36 districts and had about 47,000 total signatures, exceeding the 10% threshold, according to Minnery.

If the initiative is approved by voters, parents would have to be informed before their daughters younger than age 18 can obtain an abortion. That requirement could be avoided if teens proceed through a judge (Anchorage Daily News, 1/15).

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