Abortion has always been a topic for debate during the political season and now new legislation is bringing the debate to an age-group that has little say in the political process.
Proposition 4, or the Abortion Waiting Period and Parental Notification Initiative, proposes to prohibit abortion for minors until 48 hours after a parent or legal guardian has been contacted.
Cal Poly Republicans president Jacki DeMarchi supports the initiative which would amend the California constitution.
“I don’t think that girls under 18 are mature enough to be able to decide,” DeMarchi said. “It is too big of a decision for young girls to make – to have a procedure done. It’s a medical procedure and there are risks.”
One such risk is that of doctors not having proper medical history and background. Supporters of the law have dubbed it “Sarah’s Law,” after a 15-year-old girl who died at a Texas hospital from complications after an abortion.
Opposing the law is a group that might consider itself the closest guardian to a teen outside the family. The California Teachers Association serves 295,000 members in the state’s more than 1,000 school districts.
“The concern that teachers have is a safety issue,” said CTA spokesman Frank Wells. “You can’t legislate kids into talking to their parents if they have bad situations at home.
It could backfire and force kids to go more underground than they would now.”
Among the underground alternatives are illegal often-times dangerous procedures that could put the teen’s safety in question.
“This law could drive some kids into unsafe procedures and unsafe situations,” Wells said. “We just don’t think that this law is in the best interest of kids.”
DeMarchi disagrees, saying that the law would benefit not only the parents, but the teens themselves.
“It’s a big weight on (the teens’) shoulders and trying to go through that alone and living at home I’d imagine that would be very difficult,” DeMarchi added.
DeMarchi also sees some hypocrisy in current California laws regarding what needs parental consent and what doesn’t.
“In the state of California you need parental permission to get a tattoo or a piercing,” DeMarchi said. “It’s crazy that you can’t get your ears pierced without parental permission but you can get an abortion.”
This is the third time a parental notification proposition has been put to a vote in California. In 2005, Proposition 73 was voted down by 52.7 percent of voters and Proposition 86 was voted down by 54 percent in 2006.
The older propositions seemed to focus on safeguards put into place to help teens struggling with physically or mentally abusive family. Under the new law, they would be allowed to notify a different relative or guardian.
There are also clauses which allow a waiver of the consent for medical emergencies, or a court waiver based on clear and convincing evidence of the minor’s maturity or best interests.
DeMarchi said that new safeguards in the amendment could make the difference to swing voters in its favor this year.
“I’m hoping that (Proposition 4) was written in more of a context looking at how the older ones failed and it would coincide with more people’s beliefs rather than just repeating a mistake,” DeMarchi said.
Wells said that the waivers would be very hard to procure, and he doesn’t think teens will go out of their way trying to get one.
“We’re talking about teenagers here,” Wells said. “They’re not going to jump through a lot of hoops and put themselves in the middle of the system when what they’re being motivated by is the fear of telling their parents in the first place.”
DeMarchi believes that parents should be aware of what is going on with their children and this law is a way to get teens to make more informed decisions.
“I think that it is important that parents understand what’s going on in their kids’ lives,” DeMarchi said. “But I understand that (Proposition 4) is for the benefit of younger girls. When they’re young – when kids are young in general – they cannot always make the best decisions for themselves, especially when they’re under stress or in a tough situation. Parental input would definitely be valuable.”