Proposition 4.

The Abortion Waiting Period and Parental Notification Initiative, otherwise known as Sarah's Law, lost in the ballot of November 4, 2008 by just 3% away. What this proposition states is that girls who are under 18 cannot have abortion performed on them without informing their parents or guardians. If passed, it would have been added to California's constitution as another amendment.

What does this mean? Not only do the girls have to deal with the intial fear and the stress from finding out that they're pregnant, with the confusion and cluelessness of what do to, but now more worry would be added on. Thinking of how to break it to their families, anticipating their parents' reactions, wondering how one should deal with their families if they do not approve: all these factors negatively affect the girls as well as the babies (if they decide to keep it). We must keep in mind that not all parents are supportive of their children. Some people have religious morals and values that they stringently follow, and probably in the more worse-case scenarios, disowning their own children for breaking these rules is always an open option. Not everyone is open-minded, not everyone will be willing to hear out the underaged girl, and I believe that if America is actually the Land of Freedom, then these girls will be given the freedom of choice. A girl should not be forced to have a child if she does not want to. If a girl truly needs help, she has options, and she knows the right people to go to for advice. If a girl wants to tell her family about the abortion, then by all means, let her, but a girl should not be pushed to do the opposite, especially if their family does not provide a loving environment. As much as we'd like to believe that everything is dandy between parents and children, nowadays these relationships are slowly falling apart because of the generation gap, which entails a big difference in beliefs and in solutions. If this proposition was passed, we cannot regulate what goes on between the girl and her family.

Therefore, my stance would be no on prop 4. If the family should find out, it should be from the girl, when she is emotionally stable, ready, and trusting. To learn more about proposition 4, you can either go to:
www.yeson4.net
www.noonprop4.org


Emily June Chen.