Proposition 73 Supporters Say They Will Continue Pressing for Parental Notification
Supporters of Proposition 73 said they will continue to press the issue of parental notification and might introduce another initiative on a future ballot, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports (Benefield, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 11/14).
Proposition 73 would have amended the state constitution to require health care providers to inform a parent or guardian 48 hours before performing an abortion on an unmarried minor. Under the measure, a girl could have sought a judicial bypass and would have received no-cost legal counsel, a confidential hearing and a ruling within three days on whether she could receive an abortion without notifying her parents (California Healthline, 11/14).
Albin Rhomberg, a spokesperson for Yes on 73, said that supporters of the measure had not expected to launch a campaign until 2007 and that organizers were rushed to meet the special election deadline. Rhomberg said, "We are thinking about having another initiative."
Don Sebastiani, a winemaker who donated $350,000 to the Yes on 73 campaign, said the measure failed in part because voters last week were "very much against the special election, very much against [Gov. Arnold] Schwarzenegger (R), very much inclined to vote no on anything" (Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 11/14).
Additional information on Proposition 73 is available online.