Parental Notification Measure Modified
The Nov. 7 statewide ballot will include a measure that would require parental notification before an abortion, a situation that might "be unprecedented" after voters defeated a similar measure in the 2005 special election, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The 2006 measure, Proposition 85, would require parental notification before an abortion is performed on an unmarried minor, with exceptions for judicial waivers and medical emergencies. The measure is "nearly identical" to the 2005 measure, Proposition 73, except that specific language defining an abortion was removed from the 2006 initiative, according to the Union-Tribune. Opponents of Proposition 73 said such language could have restricted other rights and stem cell research.
Publisher Jim Holman and winemaker Don Sebastiani provided $2.1 million and $250,000, respectively, to qualify the measure for the ballot. The Catholic Church and the California Family Council also support the proposition.
Jill Soderlund, a spokesperson for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), said the governor's position on parental notification has not changed from last year, when he announced his support for the measure.
Opponents of Proposition 85 include:
- Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides;
- California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO;
- California Medical Association;
- California Teachers Association;
- League of Women Voters; and
- Planned Parenthood (Ainsworth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/2).
Summaries of an editorial and opinion piece addressing Proposition 85 are provided below.
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San Francisco Chronicle: Supporters of Proposition 85 "have stripped some of [Proposition 73's] objectionable language," but Proposition 85 "still amounts to an attempt to undermine the state's privacy rights as affirmed by the state Supreme Court," a Chronicle editorial states. "Instead of addressing the teenage pregnancy rate ... this proposition seeks to punish the most vulnerable teenagers, fan hostility toward judges and chip away at Roe vs. Wade," the editorial concludes (San Francisco Chronicle, 10/2).
- Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle: "[M]any teenagers will remain at risk -- as in, having unprotected sex or sex with older men -- as long as their parents remain in the dark," as is the case under current California laws, columnist Saunders writes in a Chronicle opinion piece. "For these girls' sake, the law should not presume that their parents are the enemy," Saunders concludes (Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/1).
KPBS' "These Days" on Monday included a discussion of Proposition 85. Guests on the program included Grace Dulaney, retired business owner and supporter of the measure, and Vince Hall -- communications director for Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties, and spokesperson for the campaign to defeat the measure (Fudge, "These Days," KPBS, 10/2).
The complete segment is available online in Windows Media.
In addition, KPCC's "AirTalk" on Monday included a discussion of Proposition 85. Guests on the program included Albin Rhomberg, a retired Sacramento physicist and spokesperson for the campaign supporting the measure, and Miriam Gerache, a spokesperson for the campaign to defeat the measure (Mantle, "AirTalk," KPCC, 10/2).
The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.