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| Title and Summary | Analysis | Arguments and Rebuttals | Text of Proposed Law |
PROP 85 |
WAITING PERIOD AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE
TERMINATION OF MINOR’S PREGNANCY.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.  |
| ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION 85 | ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION 85 |
IN CALIFORNIA, a daughter under 18 can’t get aspirin from the school nurse, get a flu shot, or have a tooth pulled without a parent knowing. BUT, UNBELIEVABLY, surgical or chemical abortions can be secretly performed on minor girls—even 12-year-olds—without parents’ knowledge.PARENTS are then not prepared to help young daughters with the serious physical, emotional, or psychological complications which may result from an abortion or to protect their daughters from further sexual abuse, exploitation, and pregnancies. A study of over 46,000 pregnancies of SCHOOL-AGE GIRLS in California found that over two-thirds were impregnated by ADULT MEN whose mean age was 22.6 years. Investigations have shown that secret abortions on minors in California are RARELY REPORTED to child protective services although these pregnancies are evidence of statutory rape and sexual abuse. This leaves these girls vulnerable to further SEXUAL ABUSE, RAPES, pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases. That’s why more than ONE MILLION SIGNATURES were submitted to allow Californians to vote on the “Parents’ Right to Know and Child Protection” / Proposition 85. PROP. 85 will require that doctors notify a parent or guardian at least 48 hours before performing abortions on minor daughters. PARENTS AND DAUGHTERS in more than 30 other states have benefited for years from laws like Prop. 85. Many times, after such laws pass, there have been substantial reductions in pregnancies and abortions among minors. When parents are involved and minors cannot anticipate secret access to free abortions they more often avoid the reckless behavior which leads to pregnancies. Older men, including Internet predators, are deterred from impregnating minors when secret abortions are not available to conceal their crimes. If she chooses, a minor may petition juvenile court to permit an abortion without notifying a parent. She can request a lawyer to help her. If the evidence shows she is mature enough to decide for herself or that notifying a parent is not in her best interests, the judge will grant her petition. The proceedings must be confidential, prompt, and free. She may also seek help from juvenile court if she is being coerced by anyone to consent to an abortion. POLLS SHOW most people support parental notification laws. They know that a minor girl—pregnant, scared, and possibly abandoned or pressured by an older boyfriend—NEEDS the advice and support of a parent. PARENTS have invested more attention and love in raising their daughter, know her personal and medical history better, and care more about her future than STRANGERS employed by abortion clinics PROFITING from performing many abortions on minors. A minor still has a legal right to obtain or refuse an abortion, but a parent can help her understand all options, obtain competent care, and provide medical records and history. An informed parent can also get PROMPT CARE for hemorrhage, infections, and other possibly fatal complications. VOTE “YES” on PROPOSITION 85 TO ALLOW PARENTS TO CARE FOR AND PROTECT THEIR MINOR DAUGHTERS’ WELL-BEING, HEALTH, and SAFETY! www.YESon85.net WILLIAM P. CLARK California Supreme Court Justice (Ret.) MARY L. DAVENPORT, M.D., Fellow American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists PROFESSOR JOSEPH R. ZANGA, M.D., FAAP, Past President American Academy of Pediatrics
NO LAW CAN FORCE FAMILIES TO COMMUNICATE. Of course, parents rightfully want to be involved in their teenagers’ lives, but in the REAL WORLD, some teenagers live in dangerous homes. Some parents are violent or sexually abuse their daughters. IN THE REAL WORLD, Proposition 85: • WON’T STOP CHILD PREDATORS. Backers are exploiting our fear of predators to advance their own political agenda. • WON’T REDUCE TEEN PREGNANCY. • PUTS TEENS AT RISK. Scared, pregnant teens from abusive families won’t go to court . . . but they may resort to dangerous back-alley abortions—or even consider suicide. • MEANS DANGEROUS DELAYS IN CRITICAL MEDICAL CARE. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that, after a law like this took effect, some pregnant teens waited months to seek care, getting riskier second trimester abortions. The California Supreme Court found “overwhelming” evidence that similar laws in other states cause real harm to teenagers and families. Don’t be misled. For ninety years, Planned Parenthood has been a trusted provider of quality healthcare. Caring staff counsel pregnant teens to talk to parents—and most do. Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics COMPLY WITH ALL CALIFORNIA LAWS ON CHILD ABUSE REPORTING. To charge NOW that they protect criminals is ridiculous. DHHS’s Offi ce of Inspector General’s recent investigation didn’t find evidence of a single reporting violation. The San Jose Mercury News says Proposition 85 is “PART OF A LARGER STRATEGY TO CHIP AWAY AT LEGALIZED ABORTION IN THE UNITED STATES.” Prop. 85 threatens teens . . . and a whole lot more. VOTE NO. DONNA W. CHIPPS Executive Vice President League of Women Voters of California BO GREAVES, M.D., President California Academy of Family Physicians JEANNE A. CONRY, M.D., Vice Chair The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX California |
DOCTORS AND NURSES, including the California
Medical Association, the California Nurses Association,
American Academy of Pediatrics-California District,
California Academy of Family Physicians, and the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists-District IX
California, STRONGLY OPPOSE PROPOSITION 85. Proposition 85’s new bureaucratic rules WON’T GUARANTEE
that parents are notified. Who will sign for the mail? What happens
when the mail is delayed, or the parents aren’t home, or the teen
intercepts the letter?
When parents learn their daughter is pregnant, ALMOST ALL RESPOND WITH LOVE AND SUPPORT. PROPOSITION 85 OFFERS CLEAR BENEFITS TO YOUNG GIRLS: • The parent can assist her daughter in selecting a doctor. Many abortion clinics employ doctors who have been disciplined by the medical board for INCOMPETENCE, NEGLIGENCE, CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS, OR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. Many have been cited by health officials for UNSAFE CONDITIONS. • An informed parent can respond quickly to post-abortion complications. Abortion complications can result in permanent injury, even death. Teens who have secret abortions often delay seeking treatment. PARENTS WHO DON’T KNOW, CAN’T HELP. • Parents who learn their daughters are victims of sexual assaults can intervene to protect them. Many abortion providers CHOOSE NOT TO REPORT SEXUAL ABUSE, abandoning these girls to FURTHER SEXUAL ABUSE. www.ChildPredators.com In the rare case of familial abuse, a court will permit a minor to obtain an abortion without notifying a parent—then notify child protective services so she can be helped, NOT LEFT VULNERABLE TO FURTHER HARM. A parent of two young teenage daughters, GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER said it would be “. . . THE ULTIMATE OF BEING OUTRAGED . . .” if someone took his daughter for a secret abortion. OVER THIRTY STATES already have laws like PROPOSITION 85, and THEIR EXPERIENCE SHOWS THESE LAWS REDUCE MINORS’ PREGNANCY AND ABORTION RATES WITHOUT DANGER AND HARM TO MINORS. Currently, the state PAYS FOR SECRET ABORTIONS FOR MINOR GIRLS. PUT PARENTS IN CHARGE, NOT THE GOVERNMENT! VOTE “YES” on PROPOSITION 85! PROTECT OUR DAUGHTERS! See: www.YESon85.net PROFESSOR TERESA STANTON COLLETT, J.D. National Authority on Parental Notification and Involvement Laws JANE E. ANDERSON, M.D., FAAP, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics PROFESSOR JOSEPH R. ZANGA, M.D., FAAP, Past President American Academy of Pediatrics |
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