A California group is gathering signatures to approve a 48-hour waiting period for young girls before they have abortions in the state.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said the state authorized the initiative’s backers to begin collecting signatures Tuesday, according to the LA City News Service.
To be approved for the November 2016 voter ballot, the initiative must have 585,407 valid signatures from registered voters and must be submitted by May 16, 2016, to qualify.
The 48-hour waiting period would begin after a physician or other licensed medical professional notifies the girl’s parents or legal guardian about the abortion in writing. The two-day period would apply to girls under age 16, according to the report.
The initiative has several exceptions, including a medical emergency, parental or judicial waiver, emancipated minors and parental abuse, the report states. If approved by voters, it would require specific abortion information to be reported to the state. Physicians or other medical professionals also could be subject to lawsuits if they violate the initiative, according to the report.
More than half of all states require that women wait a certain amount of time and consider her options before going through with an abortion. In June, North Carolina joined Missouri, South Dakota and Utah in requiring a 72-hour waiting period, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion advocacy group funded by Planned Parenthood.
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The initiative faces an uphill battle in liberal California. Similar measures were defeated in 2005, 2006 and 2008, according to the report.
In 2012, California pro-lifers also attempted to pass a parental notification law for minors seeking abortions. The initiative failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
In California a minor cannot be given an aspirin by a school nurse, use a tanning bed in a salon, or have a cavity filled without a parent knowing. However, a young lady under the age of 18 can obtain a surgical or chemical abortion without her parent(s) ever being informed.
