Publisher Top Contributor to Parental Notification Measure
San Diego Reader Publisher Jim Holman has contributed $2.6 million of the $4.2 million that has been raised so far in support of Proposition 85, the AP/Modesto Bee reports (Hoffman, AP/Modesto Bee, 10/30).
Proposition 85 would require parental notification before an abortion is performed on an unmarried minor, with exceptions for judicial waivers and medical emergencies (California Healthline, 10/3).
Kathy Kneer, president of Planned Parenthood of California, said that without Holman's efforts, the measure would not have qualified for the ballot.
Along with contributing the bulk of funding for the campaign, Holman stood on street corners to collect signatures for the measure. He also keeps a sign reading "Yes On 85 -- Protect Our Daughters" on his front lawn.
The campaign is headquartered in the offices of his publication, The San Diego Reader. He also has allocated ad space for the measure in four Catholic newspapers that he publishes.
Other major supporters of Proposition 85 include Tom Monaghan, founder of Dominos Pizza, and Don Sebastiani, a Sonoma County vintner and former Republican state legislator (AP/Modesto Bee, 10/30).
The No on Proposition 85 Campaign on Monday began airing a television advertisement in costal media markets, the Sacramento Bee reports.
The ad features a woman saying that her daughter would come to her if she became pregnant. However, the woman adds, "But, I wonder."
The ad states that Proposition 85 would force girls to notify "an abusive or violent parent that they are pregnant, and this puts them in real danger."
The Bee analysis says that the ad is "technically incorrect" because doctors would be required to notify the girl's parent or guardian, not the girl. The ad also does not mention that the measure would allow minors seek judicial waivers to the notification requirement.
The omission of the juvenile court waiver is "striking," according to the Bee, because it is considered a "central argument" by opponents who say that the court system can appear confusing to a minor and might delay medical care (Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 10/30).