Pro-Life/Pro-Baby ping!
(Of special interest to CA FReepers... because it isn't just "babies having babies" anymore, it's "babies killing babies".)
Posted on 09/17/2005 9:11:05 PM PDT by calcowgirl
SAN FRANCISCO -- Abortion opponents in California have tried for over two decades to make it harder for girls to terminate pregnancies without their parents' knowledge. In the special election called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, they may finally get their chance.
Among the most hotly contested of the eight initiatives on the November ballot is a constitutional amendment that would require doctors to give parents or guardians written notice 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor.
Adults would not have to consent to the procedure, but sponsors hope the notification requirement would reduce California's teen abortion rate -- the nation's fourth-highest -- by getting parents in on the decision.
"The idea is to create a waiting or reflection period so in principle, there is time for a parent to be involved and do some counseling," said Albin Rhomberg, a spokesman for Parents' Right to Know, the group behind Proposition 73.
If the measure passes, California would become the 16th state with a parental notification law (another 19 require parental consent.) But given its size, "blue" state sensibilities and status among the dwindling number of states where girls have unfettered access to abortion, national abortion rights advocates are concerned, especially as President Bush fills two vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court.
"I hope it's not a bellwether and I hope it doesn't pass," said Dr. Wendy Chavkin, chairwoman of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, which is dispatching doctors to debates and public meetings as part of the No on 73 campaign.
Though opponents are optimistic that the amendment will fail, Californians have expressed conservative leanings at the ballot box before, and the notion of parental notification resonates with many voters who favor legalized abortion, but don't think it's out of line for the state to help a 13-year-old's parents learn that she's pregnant.
According to a recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, 70 percent of likely voters would not support overturning Roe. v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision guaranteeing the right to abortion. But the same poll found voters more evenly divided on Proposition 73, with 48 percent opposing the parental notification requirement and 44 percent supporting it.
"This is about parents' rights," said Cindy Moles, who directs the anti-abortion group Concerned Women of America's activities in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside counties. "In California you can't let your daughter get her ears pierced without parental permission, and yet she can get a not insignificant surgical procedure with someone else making the decisions."
While previous efforts to get such a measure before voters have failed, backers think their timing's right this time. The million-dollar signature-gathering effort was underwritten by three wealthy patrons -- San Diego newspaper publisher James Holman, vintner Don Sebastiani and Dominos Pizza founder Tom Monaghan -- whose deep pockets may be tapped again in the weeks ahead to sell the amendment to voters.
The most recent campaign finance reports show Proposition 73 supporters raised and spent $985,854 between the beginning of the year and June 30. Opponents had raised only $143,676 and spent $314,524. Both sides said they expect spending patterns to equalize, but with national groups preoccupied with the Supreme Court nominations, out-of-state resources might be limited.
Sponsors initially planned to have Californians vote on the measure next June, but it got swept onto the Nov. 8 ballot when Schwarzenegger called the special election. Tied as the election is to the governor's own fading star, his Republican supporters, who also are more likely to support restrictions on abortion, may be more motivated to show up to vote.
The proposal contains several exceptions to the two-day advance notification -- a doctor could perform an abortion in a medical emergency, for example, and a judge could waive the requirement on a case-by-case basis. But abortion rights activists worry that some of the detailed requirements and language spelled out in the measure are overly restrictive and make it unnecessarily difficult for a girl with a troubled home life to petition a court for a waiver.
Equally disturbing to Maggie Crosby, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, is a clause in the amendment defining abortion as a procedure that "causes the death of the unborn child." Inserting that label into the state Constitution, rather than a medical term such as fetus or embryo, "can have far-reaching consequences on everything from stem cell research to fertility treatments and it's totally unnecessary to the definition of abortion," Crosby said.
Proposition 73's opponents plan to focus on the reluctance many voters have to amend a document as binding as a constitution.
"People realize you can't amend the Constitution to force teens to talk to their parents," said Kathy Kneer, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.
On the Net:
www.parentsright2know.org
www.noonproposition73.com/
Of course you are right. Black robes can't have the people messing with THEIR constitutions.
http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/bp_nov05/voter_info_pdf/entire73.pdf
A physician would provide the required notification in either of the following two ways:
• Personal Written Notifi cation. Written notice could be provided to the parent or guardian personally—for example, when a parent accompanied the minor to an office examination or to obtain the abortion itself.
• Mail Notification. A parent or guardian could be sent a written notice by certifi ed mail so long as a return receipt was requested by the physician and delivery of the notice was restricted to the parent or guardian who must be notified. An additional copy of the written notice would have to be sent at the same time to the parent or guardian by first-class mail. Under this method, notification would be presumed to have occurred as of noon on the second day after the written notice was mailed.
(Of special interest to CA FReepers... because it isn't just "babies having babies" anymore, it's "babies killing babies".)
I am very surprised I didn't know about this and the petition received 950,000 signatures. I am at the store several times a week, where I signed the Soledad Cross petitions here in San Diego, and was approached to sign others.
Where exactly is this being advertised?
The link in the article was:
http://www.parentsright2know.org/pages/1/index.htm
Glad you can enjoy your wine and pizza!
I hope you didn't think I was being flip about the wine and pizza. I try to make it a point to support those companies and products who stand in support of . I'd never realized I could do those 3 things all at once, and it was a nice surprise. ;)
San Diego News Notes had petitions for a few months. The current issue has a "yes on 73" pullout for posting in windows.
Jim Holman, who was mentioned as one of the financial backers of the measure, publishes News Notes, which is a lay Catholic newspaper, as well as the San Diego Reader.
Thanks for the ping!
Kind of like distributing clean needles to drug addicts to prevent the spread of disease?
Maybe we should distribute fireproof jackets and gloves to arsonists so they don't burn themselves while they are out recreating.
Actually the way it will work is that the simple notion that you can have a secret abortionand your parents will never know will be abolished. Kids will then think twice before hopping in the sack.
I drove really careful before I was 18 because I couldn't bear the thought of the endless finger wagging lecture if I ever got stopped for a ticket.
A physician would provide the required notification in either of the following two ways:
• Personal Written Notification. Written notice could be provided to the parent or guardian personally—for example, when a parent accompanied the minor to an office examination or to obtain the abortion itself.
In that case, the parents know already.
• Mail Notification. A parent or guardian could be sent a written notice by certified mail so long as a return receipt was requested by the physician and delivery of the notice was restricted to the parent or guardian who must be notified. An additional copy of the written notice would have to be sent at the same time to the parent or guardian by first-class mail. Under this method, notification would be presumed to have occurred as of noon on the second day after the written notice was mailed.
So, a child can provide a false address, and two days later they can have an abortion, whether or not the parents have received the note. The post office often holds certified mail with return receipt if you aren't home to sign the mail the first time (such as for parents who both work outside the home during the day), and children can pick up the 1st class letter.
Most girls old enough to get pregnant (and in fact most school-age children) are old enough to deceive their parents, such as when forging signatures on report cards.
That's good, but sometimes parents might not know until after the abortion, so they can't offer any intervention until after they know. Maybe future apropositions can extend the waiting period. Prop 73 is an excellent beginning.
Kids will then think twice before hopping in the sack.
I sure hope so, but it would be more effective for parents to teach their children, who often don't dwell on chance consequences. Maybe it will help Planned Parenthood think twice before being so eager to perform abortions on minors.
>>I hope you didn't think I was being flip...
Oh, no! Not at all. I thought your observation was a good one (I've pretty much boycotted Hollywood, myself, lol).
I haven't followed this measure at all, so I really couldn't answer your initial question, other than to give an active link (to a site that also had limited info). I would guess that more info will be coming out over the next month as the campaigns gear up.
I did summarize some links to the LAO Analysis and full text for each of the upcoming ballot measures on my FR homepage that might give you more info.
ROFL. Good one! Kinda goes to show...
And don't forget to go stand across from these killing mills and pray, pray, pray!
Prayer will shut them down.
Eugene abortion clinic closes; surprising many (Hooray !!!)
Prayer credited for closing of abortion clinic [Eugene, OR]
Planned Parenthood will shut down 3 clinics [Indiana]
Persevering Students Help Close Abortion Clinic [Santa Paula, CA--Thomas Aquinas College]
Abortion Clinic Managers Quit After Being Outed by Operation Rescue [Wichita, Kansas]
One Man's God Squad: Troy Newman's plan to stop abortions in Wichita, Kansas
Baby Saved From Abortion is Baptized [New Orleans]
Judges rule civil suits against Planned Parenthood can proceed [Los Angeles, CA]
CA: Abortion opponents hope to limit access for California girls (Prop 73)
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