Women Pregnancy

On November 7, Californians will vote once again on the controversial issue of parental notification for minors seeking abortions. Proposition 85 would require doctors to notify a parent 48 hours before performing the procedure on a minor. Parental notification sounds like a great idea when a teenage girl is pregnant and considering an abortion. In a day when many parents fear public schools and other outsiders are taking too much control of their kids’ lives, some adults feel this is a way to make sure they are involved in one of the most important decisions a young woman can make.

At first glance, it makes sense that if a school nurse can’t give aspirin to a minor without parental consent, then the same ought to hold true for an abortion. Unfortunately, Proposition 85 won’t reduce underage abortions and stands to endanger far more lives than it purports to save. “We are required as parents to be involved in every other aspect of our daughters’ lives medical and otherwise,” said Julie Pecha from Yes on 85. “This proposition just includes us in a situation where a girl is very fearful.”

Perhaps those who encourage her to get an abortion have ulterior motives such as removing evidence of statutory rape, or getting rid of a baby they might have to support, or the financial interests of the abortion clinic that will make money performing an abortion. In his argument against Proposition 85 and parental notification of minors who seek abortions, letter-writer Shane Coburn assumes things about an underage young woman with an unplanned pregnancy that I think are mistaken [”Withdrawing women’s choice, Oct. 2]. He assumes that people other than her family are more likely to have her best interests at heart and that those people will encourage her to make an informed choice rather than steering her toward only one option.

One problem, of course, is that the abortion issue in general often brings out the hypocrite in politicians. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for one, proclaimed loudly while running for governor in the recall election of 2003 that he was a firm believer in women’s absolute right to choose. But two years later, he strongly endorsed Proposition 73, allowing that, “I wouldn’t want to have someone take my daughter for an abortion or something and not tell me. I would kill them if they do that.” So, Schwarzenegger is all for freedom of reproductive choice — just not for his daughter or other young women her age.

There’s little evidence that teenagers will become any closer with parents who a doctor informs of their child’s intent to seek an abortion. Two medical journal studies comparing a state with parental notification (Minnesota) and one without notification (Wisconsin) found that the mandate didn’t increase the number of teens who spoke with parents.
Of course, the proposition is as much about abortion politics as it is about parental rights or child protection, which is one reason for our opposition. It works away at a woman’s right to privacy by forcing a doctor to violate patient confidentiality.