August, 2005

California AAUW strongly opposes Proposition 73 which will appear on the November ballot and urges all branches to help defeat this initiative.  At its July meeting, the California Board of Directors passed the following motion:

Between now and the November 8^th election, the California AAUW Board of Directors will prioritize and make every effort to defeat the “Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy; Waiting Period and Parental Notification Initiative” through committee work, publications, communications to encourage branch and member involvement, and outreach to voters.

The initiative amends the California Constitution.  It requires physicians to notify a teenager’s (under the age of 18) parent or legal guardian before offering abortion services except in medical emergency or with parental waiver.  The initiative also has the following requirements:

Background:  The California Legislature enacted a parental consent law which was struck down in the courts in 1997.  The California Constitution has an explicit right of privacy clause which the California Supreme Court determined made the consent law unconstitutional.  This initiative would amend the Constitution to limit a girl’s right to privacy.

Why has AAUW taken this position?  AAUW has long opposed parental notification laws because our members believe that confidential access to reproductive health care is crucial in helping teenagers obtain timely medical advice and safe, appropriate medical care.  Parental involvement is desirable and to be encouraged, but studies show that legislatively mandating parental notification for reproductive health services often causes minors to skip or postpone needed medical care.

California AAUW members identified freedom of reproductive choice as their number one legislative priority in last year’s Public Policy Survey.

The following is excerpted from a Planned Parenthood information sheet:  

Most parents rightly want to be involved in their teenage daughters’ lives, but good family communication cannot be imposed by the government.  It has to begin long before a teen faces an unplanned pregnancy.  The best way to protect teens is to begin talking about responsible and appropriate sexual behavior from the time they are young and to foster an atmosphere that assures teens that they can always go to their parents if they have a problem.

But should their daughters be unable to talk to them, for whatever reason, parents foremost want their teenagers to have access to counseling and safe, professional medical care.  For most parents, it’s more important that their daughters are safe and have access to counseling and medical care, than it is for the government to force their daughters to inform them.

Parental notification laws might seem reasonable, but in a real world, they do nothing to keep teens safe or to promote family communication.  Parents need real tools to help them communicate openly with their children about their values and how to foster responsible sexual relationships and emotional well-being.  

California’s teen birth rate has declined 40 per cent over the last 10 years without government mandates.  California should be concentrating on pregnancy prevention through counseling, comprehensive sex education and birth control.  Those are real solutions.  

Most teens involve their parents.  

Research shows that a majority of teens talk to their parents about their options when faced with a life-altering situation like an unplanned pregnancy.  But we also know from experience that not every family is able to communicate when it comes to sensitive issues like sexuality or abortion.  In the real world, some teens simply can’t or won’t go to their parents when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.  Most parents agree that whether or not their teens come to them, their teens need to have access to counseling and safe medical care.

Is a judicial bypass the answer?  

Proponents of the measure argue that teens living in abusive situations would be protected by the initiative’s judicial bypass provision, which allows a teen to go before a judge to waive the parental notification requirement.  But think about it, she’s already alone, scared and pregnant.  Is it realistic that she also is required to march into a crowded courtroom?  Many teens lack knowledge of court procedures or live in rural areas and cannot easily access a judge in a timely fashion.  And, do we really want a judge—who has known her for five minutes—making life altering decisions for her?  

This extreme measure would impose a one-size-fits-all constitutional amendment on every California family.  It would force the government into sensitive family decisions.  Help protect teen safety by voting against this empty initiative on November 6.  

We will not defeat this initiative without an all out effort by AAUW branches.  Following are suggestions for branch action:

ü               Appoint a Branch Campaign Coordinator.  Send her name and e-mail to choicechair@aauw-ca.org.  Your coordinator could be your Public Policy Chair or an interested member.

ü               Plan time at your September meeting for a presentation on the Initiative.  Enlist members to help your coordinator plan the meeting.

ü               Work in coalition with other organizations opposing the initiative.  The Campaign for Teen Safety will have campaign offices throughout the state.  We will get the list to you as soon as it is available.

ü               Plan a community meeting to talk about how dangerous Proposition 73 can be for vulnerable teens.

ü               Plan strategies for a get out the women’s vote campaign.  This may be a very low turnout election.  Getting supporters to the polls will take major effort.  Enlist branch members to help with phone banking before the election.

ü               Identify places in your community where you can reach young women and get them registered to vote.  On line voter registration is easily accessible from the AAUW CA website…www.aauw-ca.org.   The last day to register is 15 days before the election.

ü               Write letters to the editor urging a no vote on Prop 73.

ü               The Campaign for Teen Safety will hold speaker trainings around the state.  Ask someone with speaking skills in your branch to take the training.  We will provide locations when they are available.

ü               Encourage personal donations to the Campaign.  Campaigns cannot be successful without funding.  Donations should be made out to the Campaign for Teen Safety and mailed to Campaign for Teen Safety, 555 Capitol Mall, Suite 510, Sacramento, CA 95814.  Please ask any member contributing over $100 to fill out the contribution form in this mailing.  Contributions should be by check as the campaign cannot accept cash.

ü               Watch for campaign updates.  We will continue to send information as it is available.

ü               Let Chris Winter at choicechair@aauw-ca.org know what’s happening in your branch so we can share it with others. 

AAUW promotes equity for all women and girls, lifelong education, and positive societal change.