Abortion measure could pass this time

Parental notification prior to abortions for underage girls, a hot-button issue that has become law in 35 states, hasn't caught on with California voters in two elections since 2005.

Don Sebastiani, a former state assemblyman and Sonoma winemaker who has poured more than $1 million into the cause, hopes the third time will succeed, and a statewide poll indicates he may be rewarded.

"We're not going away," Sebastiani said.

Proposition 4, on the Nov. 4 ballot, requires written notification of a pregnant minor's parent or guardian at least 48 hours before an abortion is performed and allows certain exceptions, such as a medical emergency or waiver by a judge.

It's essentially a revival of ballot measures rejected in 2005 and 2006, the first time by a 6 percent margin and then by 8 percent.

Critics say the proposition is a back-door attack on abortion rights and jeopardizes the health of young girls who are in a vulnerable position.

"Mandatory notification laws may sound good, but in the real world they have consequences," said Maya Ingram of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate.

California law affords underage girls the same rights to an abortion as adults, and Ingram said that freedom is needed to keep them from resorting to "back-alley" or self-induced abortions, or in the worst case, suicide.

Sebastiani said the notification law "has nothing to do" with reversing Roe vs. Wade and is aimed instead at catching male predators who get girls pregnant and force them to get abortions.

"Abortion providers don't blow the whistle on the father," he said.

The proposed law also recognizes that girls in dysfunctional families -- with an "abusive stepfather," for example -- need alternatives to parental notification, Sebastiani said.

Pregnant minors can ask a juvenile court judge to waive the notification requirement, with help from a court-appointed attorney. In circumstances where a girl fears she would be abused by a parent who learned she was pregnant, her doctor can notify another adult family member instead.

"We've put in loopholes with that specific concern in mind," Sebastiani said.

Critics say those conditions miss the mark.

Health care providers already are required by law to report any case of suspected child abuse, including unlawful sex with an adult.

"We don't need Prop. 4 to do that," Ingram said.

Pregnant girls need the help of "a caring counselor," she said, not a judge and an intimidating legal process. The option of notifying another relative must be based on a history of parental abuse and reported to authorities, according to the proposed law.

None of the 35 states with parental notification laws requires girls to allege parental abuse if they seek to notify another relative, according to a study by UC San Francisco's Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health.

In California, unintended pregnancies among girls ages 15 to 17 result in about 19,000 births, 16,000 abortions and 7,000 miscarriages a year, the study said.

Parental notification will "likely not prevent abortion or the need for abortion, nor will it improve minors' communication with parents about abortion decisions," the study concluded.

In Sonoma County, there were 114 Medi-Cal funded abortions for girls under 18 in 2005, or 2.6 percent of the 4,321 Medi-Cal funded abortions statewide, according to public health records.

The Catholic Bishops of California backed Proposition 4, describing it as "a sensible policy" that would encourage a minor girl "faced with a serious decision . . . to go to her parents or family for their love, their wisdom and their counsel."

Sebastiani, a Catholic, has contributed $530,000, nearly one-third of the $1.86 million in campaign donations to the Yes on Prop. 4 campaign, according to the California Secretary of State's Office.

Planned Parenthood organizations around the state have contributed $4 million to the No on 4 campaign, or two-thirds of the $5.9 million total, according to state records.

A Field Poll last month found 49 percent of likely voters supported Proposition 4, with 41 percent opposed.

Those intending to vote "yes" overwhelmingly (75 percent) said parents "need to be involved" or "have a right to know."

Voters opposing the measure cited a "woman's personal decision" (44 percent) and "notifying a parent could be risky" (25 percent) as reasons for their position.

In the nine-county Bay Area, the poll said voters oppose Proposition 4 by 49 percent to 40 percent.

Political pundits have suggested Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's drive to register California Latinos to vote may help Proposition 4 pass. The Field Poll said Latinos support the measure, 62 percent to 31 percent.

In all, Sebastiani has donated about $1.15 million to the three parental notification ballot measures, and he said he is prepared to spend more, if necessary.

"If we lose this one, we'll be at it a fourth time," he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com.