Proposition 4 would require parental notification for minors seeking abortions in the state of California.
I voted no as a similar issue directly affect a friend of mine from years ago. Short version of her story, she was drugged at a party, turned up pregnant and when her father was notified of her intent to seek an abortion, he beat her so badly that she not only miscarried but required surgery for several injuries and can no longer have children.
TO me it feels like a completely useless measure as it only affects the very kids who need to be protected from such forced action. Teens who have a good relationship with their parents will likely seek their advise in a pregnancy situation anyway, and therefore won't be affected.
I also find much of the advertising for the measure to be distasteful in the extreme. One ad suggests with an actor playing the role of an "older guy" that stat rapists will just not worry about the pregnancy possibility because they can always take the girl to get an abortion. This flies in the face of national and California statistics, which consistently show that teens impregnated by older men are likely to carry to term instead of seeking abortions anyway.
This is the ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQNX4I5Mu0I
THe statistical data I refer to is summarized in this wiki article (and the studies are linked in the references):
Heh. I swear Agent_86 sometimes I think you aren't being serious.
Why specifically do you support and do you have any comments to the major criticisms of such laws? Safety of pregnant teens with abusive parents and incest situations are the two biggest.
If a teen reports that she has abusive/violent parents, they can appeal to a court. If the appeal is accepted, they can tell another family member, such as a grandparent, aunt, etcetera.
My problem with that idea is that court appeals are a time consuming process and abuse often goes unreported. That was certainly the case with my friend (her abuse at the hands of her father was not sexual at all, for the record) who attempted to file with the courts to no avail. By the time the court grants permission (assuming they do), it is often too late.
My idea: Well, the amount of abusive families in which a daughter gets pregnant is a very small minority. For that minority, a clause was added for their protection. For the majority, this will be a very good thing.
My point is that the clause added for their protection is essentially useless because of timeline issues and that the rest of the measure is essentially useless because the kids in non-abusive situations will be more likely to talk to their parents about it anyway.
I don't understand that statement Agent_86, "it's good to have something like this on the books." I mean I understand why even many pro-choice people think such a law sounds good. But to my eye, from the clinical studies I've read on teen brains (both physically and psychologically), the case studies I've read of teens negatively impacted by such policies, and the statistics on which pregnant teens do and do not talk to their parents, it's a complete waste and more than a little dangerous.
I also question, in light of New Hampshire's state SUpreme Court's recent repeal of their similar law, whether such a thing is constitutional or not.
