Intususseption

Proposition 85

 Once again voters have an opportunity to defeat an initiative that threatens the safety of thousands of California's teens. Proposition 85, the so-called Parental Notification Initiative, will appear on the November General Election ballot. This initiative is almost identical to last year's Proposition 73, which was a failed effort by the same sponsors.

Last year the North County Times wisely rejected the parental notification initiative, calling it "a hurdle, plain and simple, placed before pregnant girls by people who want to roll back abortion rights more broadly."

I could not agree more. While backers of 85 are being careful not to discuss their broader agenda in public, their internal newspapers openly reveal Prop. 85 to be a calculated assault on legal abortion and the Roe vs. Wade decision.


While parental notification laws may sound reasonable, in the real world, they are the wrong answer for California and will put thousands of our most vulnerable teens at risk. Parents rightfully want to be involved in their teens' lives, but no law can mandate family communication.

The good news is that a majority of teens already involve their parents in decisions about an unintended pregnancy. As the North County Times said last year, "California's girls have been doing fine without parental notification. Rates of teen pregnancies and abortions have been falling for years. Studies suggest that most girls tell their parents already."

Interestingly in the year since that was published, teen pregnancy and abortion rates have fallen even further, and more than 70 percent of teens now involve their parents in these decisions. According to an August report by the state Department of Health Services, teen pregnancy rates in California have dropped by 46 percent over the last 10 years. This drop occurred without laws like Prop. 85.

But for the remaining teens who don't involve a parent, there is generally a very good reason why they can't. In the real world the teen may fear being kicked out of her home or face violence should she disclose to her family that she's pregnant. Or worse, a family member may have caused the pregnancy. These teens can't go to their parents. Prop. 85 could force these vulnerable teens to delay medical care or turn to self-induced or illegal back-alley abortions. Some may even consider suicide.

Proponents of Prop. 85 say that teens in abusive situations can just seek a court waiver if they can't talk to their parents. But courts are already backlogged. There is a lot of red tape, and courts are hard to navigate, even for adults. As the North County Times said last year, this judicial bypass option "is a cruel joke; imagine a girl who is pregnant, probably poor, and perhaps suffering under an abusive parent ---- what are the odds she will call a lawyer or otherwise enter the judicial system?"

Ironically Prop. 85's backers have admitted this fact, and are now arguing that Planned Parenthood will escort these teens through the courthouse, and yet it is these same people who regularly attempt to block access to our health centers, intimidate our patients, eliminate our funding, outlaw our services, and recall judges who protect our rights. If they succeed, who then will ensure the safety of these vulnerable teens?

Scared, desperate teens don't need courthouses and judges. They need counseling and medical care without delay.

A recent study released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that after a law like Prop. 85 took effect, some pregnant teens waited months ---- until their 18th birthday ---- to seek care and then faced riskier second trimester abortions.

That's why doctors, nurses and teachers ---- including the California Medical Association, the California Nurses Association, the California Teachers Association, Planned Parenthood and the American Academy of Pediatrics, California ---- all oppose Prop. 85.

Californians know that the real answer to teen pregnancy and abortion is strong, caring families and comprehensive sex education, including abstinence and access to contraception ---- not new laws that would harm our teens. Please join doctors, nurses, teachers and parents and vote no on Prop. 85 this November. 

posted by Intussusception Medical Care Amateur - @ Intususseption: Proposition 85