PD Editorial: No on Prop. 4

Scare tactics are in abundance this election — especially where it concerns Proposition 4, the parental notification measure.

Supporters have dressed it up as “Sarah’s Law,” in reference to a 15-year-old Texan girl who died from complications after a “secret abortion.”

Had one of her parents been notified about the procedure, supporters contend, her life might have been saved.

What they don’t point out is that “Sarah” was in a common-law marriage that would have excluded her from being helped by Proposition 4.

But opponents of Proposition 4 are also guilty of using terms intended to frighten.

They argue that if a parent must be notified before a young girl has an abortion, the teen could be subjected to emotional and physical abuse and forced to seek “back-alley” abortions.

Worse, they contend, approving Proposition 4 is a step toward overturning Roe vs. Wade.

We don’t find either of these arguments particularly compelling or reflective of what is happening in the 35 other states that already have parental consent or parental notification laws.

Recent polls show more than 70 percent of Californians oppose governmental interference in a woman’s access to an abortion. That is not about to change with this measure.

Unlike previous versions of the notification law which have failed to win voter support in California, exceptions are granted under Proposition 4 in cases of medical emergencies and parental abuse. In the latter case, a physician would only need to notify an adult in the family, be it a sibling, aunt or grandparent. The minor also could seek a waiver of the notification rule in the courts with the promise of free legal assistance and confidentiality.

It’s an oddity of our time — and an accident of legal history — that a child can’t get an aspirin from the school nurse without parental permission, but a girl as young as 13 can be taken to have an abortion without a parent knowing. We agree that a parent should be notified when a child that young is undergoing such a procedure.

Where advocates of this measure fail to make their case is in demonstrating that this is more than a hypothetical — that a number of caring parents of young girls in California are actually being left in the dark. What problem is being fixed by this measure?

Another flaw is that Proposition 4 draws no distinction between a child who is 13 and one who is 18. Other states, such as Delaware and South Carolina, have recognized this difference and adopted notification or consent laws that apply only to minors under 16 or 17. If California is going to go this route, it should at least do the same.

The Press Democrat recommends a no vote on Proposition 4.