500 word ARGUMENT in Favor of the

 

PARENTS’ RIGHT TO KNOW and CHILD PROTECTION

Ballot Initiative / PROPOSITION 73

to appear in the

OFFICIAL VOTER INFORMATION GUIDE

 for the

SPECIAL STATEWIDE ELECTION,

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

 

 

 

 

In California, a daughter under 18 can’t get an aspirin from the school nurse, get a flu shot, or have a tooth pulled without a parent knowing.

 

HOWEVER, surgical or chemical abortions can be secretly performed on minor girls -- even 13 years old or younger -- without parents’ knowledge.

 

PARENTS are then not prepared to help young daughters with any of the serious physical, emotional, or psychological complications which may result from an abortion or to protect their daughters from further sexual exploitation and pregnancies.

 

A study of over 46,000 pregnancies of school-age girls in California found that over two-thirds were impregnated by adult men whose mean age was 22.6 years.

 

Investigations have shown that secret abortions on minors in California are rarely reported to child protective services although these pregnancies are evidence of statutory rape and sexual abuse. This leaves these girls vulnerable to further sexual abuse, rapes, pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases.

 

That’s why more than ONE MILLION SIGNATURES were submitted to allow Californians to vote on the “Parents’ Right to Know and Child Protection” Proposition 73.

 

PROP 73 will require that one parent or guardian be notified at least 48 hours before an abortion is performed on a minor daughter.

 

 

500 word Argument in Favor of Proposition 73      continued . . .

 

 

PARENTS AND DAUGHTERS in more than 30 other states have benefited for years from laws like Prop 73.  Many times, after such laws pass, there have been substantial reductions in pregnancies and abortions among minors.

 

When parents are involved and minors cannot anticipate secret access to free abortions they more often avoid the reckless behavior which leads to pregnancies.  Older men, including Internet predators, are deterred from impregnating minors when secret abortions are not available to conceal their crimes.

 

If she chooses, a minor may petition juvenile court to permit an abortion without notifying a parent.  She can request a lawyer to help her.  If the evidence shows she is mature enough to decide for herself or that notifying a parent is not in her best interests, the judge will grant her petition.  The proceedings must be confidential, prompt, and free.  She may also seek help from juvenile court if she is being coerced by anyone to consent to an abortion.

 

POLLS SHOW most people support parental notification laws.  They know that a minor girl -- pregnant, scared, and possibly abandoned or pressured by an older boyfriend -- needs the advice and support of a parent.

 

PARENTS have invested more attention and love in raising their daughter, know her personal and medical history better, and care more about her future than strangers employed by abortion clinics profiting from performing many abortions on minors.

 

A minor still has a right to obtain or refuse an abortion, but a parent can help her understand all options, obtain competent care, and provide medical records and history.

 

An informed parent can also get prompt care for hemorrhage, infections and other possibly fatal complications.

 

Vote “YES” on PROP 73 TO ALLOW PARENTS TO CARE FOR AND PROTECT THEIR MINOR DAUGHTERS !

 

http://www.yeson73.net/

 

   WILLIAM P. CLARK,  California Supreme Court Justice, 1973-1981

 

   Mary L. Davenport, M.D.,  Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians

      and Gynecologists

 

   MARIA GUADALUPE GARCIA,  Organizing Director, Parents’ Right to Know and

      Child Protection / YES ON 73