Bypass The Legislature
Alaska is working on getting a parental "notice or consent" initiative on the ballot for the next primary election, which will be in August 2010.
Gov. Sarah Palin is backing a ballot measure to bypass the Legislature and make it illegal for teenagers to get an abortion without telling their parents.
The initiative sponsors, including former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman, applied last week to start gathering signatures. The measure would generally forbid a girl under 18 from getting an abortion unless the doctor informed at least one of her parents beforehand.
Yes, it seems like common sense to have a parent be informed about a surgical operation or a prescription drug. After all, school nurses cannot administer drugs to students without parental notification, so getting a parents approval, or at the least, notifying a parent of what’s about to happen to their child and grandchild would seem to make sense and be good law. (But then again, abortion providers seem to be above the law.)
However, Planned Parenthood doesn’t think so:
The abortion rights group Planned Parenthood will oppose the initiative. Many teens come from unhealthy families and could take dangerous steps to avoid the consequences that would come from facing their parents, said Clover Simon, the Alaska vice president of Planned Parenthood.
That’s no shocker, that’s what Planned Parenthood does. That’s what any business that wants money would do. Resist anyone or anything that takes a stab at your demographic – your main income.
The real kicker for me, in all of this, is what Health Committee Chairman, Sen. Bettye Davis, conjured up.
Davis said the bill has problematic issues like forcing the teen to wait 48 hours to have the abortion even after telling a parent.
First, waiting to make a decision, that will forever alter your life, is not a bad thing. But, putting that aside for a moment, the initiative covers what the Sen. Sees as problematic!
The initiative would require parental "notice or consent" before a woman under 18 could have an abortion, unless the teen convinced a court otherwise or there was a medical emergency. There would have to be a 48-hour waiting period after the parent is notified -- but that could be waived if the parent gave consent for the abortion.
There is no good reason not to support this. Go Alaska!
(You can read the entire story here.)
About the Author
Ian Kelly is the "arm chair pundit" at Moral Outcry. He has worked full time for Bound4LIFE since 2007. His other responsibilities include local chapter development and new media communications. Besides being a political junkie, he enjoys history, sci-fi, super heroes and grilling.
