Are you trying to proposition me?
I'm researching the propositions on my ballot... I mostly have figured out how I want to vote, although there are two measures I feel confused about and one I mostly know what I think is best but am not really sure.
Anyhow, there's also the no-brainer - voting no that parents must be informed when a minor wants to get an abortion.
Personally, I think if you raise your child well, in more than 99% of the cases, your child qill feel safe telling you and getting your support and assistance in the case of an accidental pregnancy (or a deliberate one for that matter, but you probably aren't considering an abortion for a deliberate pregnancy). So, I think the minors who aren't telling their parents probably have good reasons.
Plus, the arguments are just stupid. Here's the arguments for:
" When parents are involved and minors cannot anticipate unrestricted access to abortion, they will avoid the reckless behavior that leads to pregnancy." - does anyone actually believe this? I'm sorry, but this just lacks face validity. As my brother would say, this argument doesn't pass the giggle test. Can you even make it with a straight face?
" In California, girls under 18 can't get simple medical care without a parent's permission but they do not have to ask their parents before receiving abortion services." - That may be a real problem that needs to be addressed. It's possible that some minors aren't getting vital medical care and have no resources. But I don't see how denying more care helps.
" More than 30 states have laws like Proposition 85, and often after such laws have passed, there have been substantial reductions in pregnancies and abortions among minors." - This is actually the start of a reasonable argument. Correlation, not causation, so it'd require a lot of detailed research. I also wonder if it is true. But this is not an argument I would sneer at. It also doesn't convince me, because I think reducing pregnancies and abortions is not a lofty enough goal to be worth reducing people's rights for. But it is, at least, a fairly reasonable point.
Arguments against:
" Studies show that 61 percent of pregnant teens tell their parents and 99 percent tell a trusted adult such as minister." - That's nice... the thing that comes to my mind is, so what? But I guess it's good that most pregnant minors feel they do have an adult they can go to.
" Some teens live in dangerous homes, where a family member may be the perpetrator, and may not be able to go to their parents." - Very much true. And this is an important argument against. Obviously, if this is the case, the minor should be removed from that situation, but it doesn't always happen, and having the minor have an unwanted child (who may then also be abused) doesn't seem to help anything. It would not be bad for minors getting either abortions or babies to be screened to check for potential abuse. I'd support that. But you don't just hand a minor who doesn't feel comfortable talking to her parents over to them without some serious investigation.
" The California Supreme Court has found "overwhelming" evidence that similar laws in other states do harm to teenagers." - This is also a good argument against, although poorly elaborated. This fuzzy argument against balances well the fuzzy argument for.
...
The law also provides for a workaround for the requirement to give parental notification - the kid can go to court and get a judge to waive it. Does anyone actually think a pregnant teenager seeking an abortion is going to have the time, resources, and ability to take the issue to court - and not have her parents even know? With the time-scale of an abortion, delaying the matter until a court verdict seems really, really nasty. I'm in favor of legalized abortions, but I still prefer them sooner rather than later. And forcing later term abortions seems quite unappealing.
I also wonder what happens to minors who can't notify their parents or legal guardians? I know people who left home at 16 or 17. They may not even know how to contact their parents anymore. I know that a friend of my niece's ran into a problem at the DMV. He couldn't get a driver's license because it required the signatures of both his mother and his father, and he has no clue where his father is and doesn't have legal documents officially making his father irrelevant. He'll eventually get a driver's license, and delaying a driver's license while annoying and problematic isn't life-altering. Weird cases like that delaying an abortion are lives-altering.
So, yeah, some of the propositions are easy. Some are hard.
Anyhow, there's also the no-brainer - voting no that parents must be informed when a minor wants to get an abortion.
Personally, I think if you raise your child well, in more than 99% of the cases, your child qill feel safe telling you and getting your support and assistance in the case of an accidental pregnancy (or a deliberate one for that matter, but you probably aren't considering an abortion for a deliberate pregnancy). So, I think the minors who aren't telling their parents probably have good reasons.
Plus, the arguments are just stupid. Here's the arguments for:
" When parents are involved and minors cannot anticipate unrestricted access to abortion, they will avoid the reckless behavior that leads to pregnancy." - does anyone actually believe this? I'm sorry, but this just lacks face validity. As my brother would say, this argument doesn't pass the giggle test. Can you even make it with a straight face?
" In California, girls under 18 can't get simple medical care without a parent's permission but they do not have to ask their parents before receiving abortion services." - That may be a real problem that needs to be addressed. It's possible that some minors aren't getting vital medical care and have no resources. But I don't see how denying more care helps.
" More than 30 states have laws like Proposition 85, and often after such laws have passed, there have been substantial reductions in pregnancies and abortions among minors." - This is actually the start of a reasonable argument. Correlation, not causation, so it'd require a lot of detailed research. I also wonder if it is true. But this is not an argument I would sneer at. It also doesn't convince me, because I think reducing pregnancies and abortions is not a lofty enough goal to be worth reducing people's rights for. But it is, at least, a fairly reasonable point.
Arguments against:
" Studies show that 61 percent of pregnant teens tell their parents and 99 percent tell a trusted adult such as minister." - That's nice... the thing that comes to my mind is, so what? But I guess it's good that most pregnant minors feel they do have an adult they can go to.
" Some teens live in dangerous homes, where a family member may be the perpetrator, and may not be able to go to their parents." - Very much true. And this is an important argument against. Obviously, if this is the case, the minor should be removed from that situation, but it doesn't always happen, and having the minor have an unwanted child (who may then also be abused) doesn't seem to help anything. It would not be bad for minors getting either abortions or babies to be screened to check for potential abuse. I'd support that. But you don't just hand a minor who doesn't feel comfortable talking to her parents over to them without some serious investigation.
" The California Supreme Court has found "overwhelming" evidence that similar laws in other states do harm to teenagers." - This is also a good argument against, although poorly elaborated. This fuzzy argument against balances well the fuzzy argument for.
...
The law also provides for a workaround for the requirement to give parental notification - the kid can go to court and get a judge to waive it. Does anyone actually think a pregnant teenager seeking an abortion is going to have the time, resources, and ability to take the issue to court - and not have her parents even know? With the time-scale of an abortion, delaying the matter until a court verdict seems really, really nasty. I'm in favor of legalized abortions, but I still prefer them sooner rather than later. And forcing later term abortions seems quite unappealing.
I also wonder what happens to minors who can't notify their parents or legal guardians? I know people who left home at 16 or 17. They may not even know how to contact their parents anymore. I know that a friend of my niece's ran into a problem at the DMV. He couldn't get a driver's license because it required the signatures of both his mother and his father, and he has no clue where his father is and doesn't have legal documents officially making his father irrelevant. He'll eventually get a driver's license, and delaying a driver's license while annoying and problematic isn't life-altering. Weird cases like that delaying an abortion are lives-altering.
So, yeah, some of the propositions are easy. Some are hard.