Parental Notification Supporters Consider Future Efforts

Proponents of parental notification requirements for abortions said they are unsure whether they will make a third attempt on the voter initiative in the next election, the Sacramento Bee reports.

Proposition 85 on Tuesday was defeated 54% to 46% (Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 11/9). The measure would have required physicians to notify a minor's parents 48 hours before performing an abortion. Voters in 2005 rejected a similar ballot measure, Proposition 73 (California Healthline, 10/12).

Exit polls determined that parents of minors approved the ballot measure by 52% to 48%, but other parents rejected the measure 57% to 43%.

Don Sebastiani, a former state lawmaker and major contributor to the ballot measure, said that efforts to garner support for the initiative among Democratic Latino voters were unsuccessful because of "a stiff wind in favor of the Democrats."

Latino voters were evenly split on the measure, according to exit polls. The polls also show that Republicans favored the measure by 73%, Democrats rejected it by 72% and independents rejected it by 63% (Sacramento Bee, 11/9).