Abortion law about notification, not approval

Proposition 4, which would require that parents be notified before their minor daughter receives an abortion, is as close as one might get to a statewide initiative that's a no-brainer. Schools, health facilities and businesses can't give kids an aspirin, pierce their ears or let them do many things (get a tan at a tanning salon, fill a cavity, etc.) without getting prior parental approval, yet when it comes to a serious medical procedure such as an abortion, a parent doesn't even have the right to know about it.

This status quo is the result of abortion politics. California is, politically speaking, a strongly pro-choice state, and supporters of legalized abortion will cede no ground, which they see leading to the slippery slope of abortion restrictions and even prohibitions. In fact, opponents of Prop. 4, such as Planned Parenthood, have used overheated “back-alley abortion” language to try to stop this measure. That's too bad, because even on the incredibly (and understandably) contentious life issue, there might be more common ground if a few reasonable reforms could be put in place, such as the ones included in this initiative.

Prop. 4 requires a physician's office to provide parents or guardians with a 48-hour notice before a minor has an abortion. This gives parents a chance to counsel their daughter in any way they choose. But Prop. 4 is not a consent measure, which means that even if parents are opposed to their child getting an abortion, the child would still have the legal right to receive one. And even the notification requirement is filled with caveats and exceptions. No notification would be necessary in the case of a medical emergency. If the child feared abuse by the parent, then the physician would be allowed to notify other family members. The child could seek a waiver from the court.

We don't like aspects of the proposition that could, say, encourage minors to make up abuse charges against their parents as a way to avoid telling them about the abortion. That could lead to a troubling expansion of the authority of the sometimes-abusive child protective services bureaucracy. But we do like the portion of the law that would allow minors to seek court help if they are being coerced, such as by a boyfriend or an adult, into having an abortion.

Vote “yes” on 4.