Holman’s Support for Parental Notification Measure Examined
The Sacramento Bee on Thursday profiled James Holman, the publisher of several Catholic newspapers and the secular weekly the San Diego Reader, who has "provided a mountain of cash and other financial support to launch Proposition 73," a measure on the Nov. 8 special election ballot that would require health care providers to notify parents or guardians 48 hours before they perform an abortion on an unmarried minor. The requirement could be waived in medical emergencies or upon approval of a juvenile court judge.
According to state campaign finance records, Holman has provided more than $1.1 million of the $1.5 million raised in support of Proposition 73. The Bee reports that Holman's contributions include:
- $700,000 in loans;
- $380,150 in payments for signature gathering;
- $15,000 in direct donations; and
- $13,738 in nonmonetary contributions.
According to the Bee, Holman has used his "statewide network of Catholic newspapers" as a "rallying voice" for Proposition 73 and antiabortion efforts. The papers -- including the Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission, San Francisco Faith, San Diego News Notes and the Spanish-language La Cruz de California -- have recently published articles on local antiabortion rallies and the status of the parental notification initiative, the Bee reports.
In addition, Holman's religious newspapers "provided expansive advertising space" to support the signature gathering drive to qualify the measure for the November ballot.
Meanwhile, the secular Reader has "largely stay[ed] above the fray," avoiding strong editorial positions on abortion, gay rights or other controversial issues, according to the Bee (Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 8/11).