For the third time in four years, voters have been presented with a ballot initiative like Proposition 4, requiring parental notification before a minor terminates a pregnancy. Voters have rejected it twice and there is no reason for them to change their minds.
The measure argues the parents’ right to know what their daughters are doing, which should be a part of regular family communication in a normal home. The problem is that this reasoning seeks to overturn a law aimed at protecting minors who come from abusive homes.
Proposition 4 represents a variation with respect to previous measures by including an ""alternative family member notification." Actually, given its legal dynamics, this change could create more problems for the minor afraid of telling her parents about the pregnancy.
This fact doesn’t matter to the measure’s proponents, because their intention is simply to impose a legal restriction on abortion at any cost.
One example of this was baptizing the initiative "Sarah’s Law," to call attention to a specific case, as has occurred on other occasions. The difference is that this Sarah never existed. The case chosen was that of Jammie García Yanes-Villegas, who had nothing to do with the initiative, because she was a married resident of Texas in 1994.
The fact that the proposition’s sponsors could not find a single case in California and have wrongly used one that occurred 14 years ago in another state shows how unusual the situation is that the initiative is trying to remedy. This is the case of a solution in search of a problem.
Moreover, it is estimated that fewer than 3% of teens get pregnant annually , and that the vast majority tell their parents about it. In the few cases they don’t, it is out of fear of violent reactions, being kicked out of their homes, or as victims of rape or incest. The current law protects this minority.
We believe the efforts invested in this initiative would be better aimed at preventing teen pregnancy and promoting regular family communication. But those promoting the proposal are only interested in a limited political agenda to change the law and restrict the right to abortion, a legal medical procedure. Vote no on Proposition 4!
