Back alley or medical office?
Imagine a 15-year-old girl named Sally.
Her father hasn’t been sober in years and becomes angry at the drop of a hat. Her mother works double shifts at a diner to make ends meet for Sally and her three younger brothers, the only relatives she knows of.
Sally just took a home pregnancy test and it came back positive.
Under Proposition 4, if she seeks medical attention, her parents must be notified of this pregnancy if she decides to proceed with an abortion, and the doctor must wait 48 hours to perform the abortion.
Upon notification, her father beats the living daylights out of her for “˜ruining their lives and she miscarries. Statistically, 14 percent of teenage pregnancies end in miscarriage. That percentage includes miscarried fetuses due to physical violence.
Let’s look at 14-year-old Suzie.
She doesn’t trust her mother, a kindergarten teacher, or her father, a pastor at their family church, to understand her positive pregnancy test.
With Proposition 4 in effect, she cannot seek proper medical attention without her family discovering her secret. In a desperate attempt to keep her secret, a friend tells Suzie about a guy she heard about who performs cheap, confidential abortions just across the U.S. border. Suzie figures it’s her only option.
She travels to the “doctor’s office” which consists of a folding table and nonmedical instruments.
On Nov. 4, you’ll find on your ballot Proposition 4, which is advocating parental notification and a 48-hour waiting period before an abortion is performed on a pregnant minor.
Dr. Myles Abbott, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics, California District, makes an important statement in the California Voter Registration Guide: “If our daughters couldn’t come to us, for whatever reason, the most important thing is keeping them safe. New laws cannot force our teens to talk to us, but they may force them into the back alleys … or worse.”
Could you live with yourself knowing your child couldn’t come to you when simple trust could have saved her life?
Officially, Proposition 4 “would require doctors to notify a parent or, in case of parental abuse, another adult family member, such as a grandparent, aunt or sister, before performing an abortion on a girl under 18.”
The idea of parental notification doesn’t sound absolutely horrible, but here’s the weird part: Parental consent for the abortion is not at all touched upon with this proposition.
Essentially, the entire constitutional amendment would focus primarily on notification alone.
Though I am a pro-choice advocate, I still think this proposition avoids the real issue for advocates of pro-life.
The proposition has almost nothing to do with the legality of abortion and instead would just make the entire process inconvenient and seriously dangerous.
The argument against Proposition 4 is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the California Medical Association, the California Association of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Title IX and the California Teachers Associations.
Some groups believe that if Proposition 4 were implemented, scared pregnant teens would no longer seek the proper medical care necessary. Young girls will likely pick an illegal abortion option or even contemplate suicide to avoid having their parents involved.
Personally, I have a close relationship with my parents. Even when I first started having sex, I felt I could tell my mother if something major happened.
But the reality is that I’m very lucky and that my relationship is quite unique.
Not all teenagers live in a safe environment where open communication is possible.
I wish that there was something the law could do to require deadbeat dads or clueless moms to have better, more honest relationships with their children. However, the law will never realistically have the ability to accomplish this.
Even in homes like mine, where teens have good relationships with their parents, a sensitive subject like pregnancy is extremely difficult to approach.
To care for young people in California, some who may not have found the strength behind their voices yet, we must keep the best medical options available. Proposition 4 will eliminate the option of seeking confidential medical help.
Wake-up call to the parents of California: Teenagers have sex, and sex can result in pregnancy.
Open communication about sexual activity and contraceptive options needs to begin long before pregnancy becomes an issue.
The possibility of Proposition 4 becoming a mandatory law may sound good, but realistically, it just brings too much danger to your younger sisters, your classmates and your future children.
No on Proposition 4! E-mail Forde at nforde@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.