California Voters Narrowly Back Parental Notification on Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 23, 2005
Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) — California voters narrowly back a parental notification initiative on the November ballot in California that would require abortion businesses to tell parents before performing an abortion on a minor teenager.
Of all registered voters, a Field Poll found some 48 percent of California voters back the proposal while 42 percent oppose it. The same number of likely voters said they would vote for the measure in November and 43 percent indicated they would likely vote no.
Republicans overwhelmingly favor the initiative by a 71 to 22 percent margin, Democrats oppose it 59 to 34 percent, and independents oppose it on a 49 to 32 percent margin.
Women are more likely to favor allowing parents to be involved in their daughter’s abortion decisions with a 52-42 percent majority. Men also favor the initiative by a 46 to 43 percent margin.
The parental notification proposal resonates more with older state residents, southern California voters, conservatives, and both Catholic and Protestant churchgoers.
The California state legislature passed a parental notification law in the mid 1980s. The state Supreme Court ruled the law constitutional in 1996 but, with a change in personnel, the court reversed itself in 1998.
Supporters of the California initiative believe that such an amendment could mean 20,000 fewer abortions in the state each year.
The majority of U.S. states now have parental notification or parental consent laws on the books and such laws have reduced teen abortions by as much as 30 percent.
The findings in the Field Poll report are based on a random sample survey of 955 California adults, which included interviews with 711 registered voters, 501 of whom are considered most likely to vote in the November 8 special election.
The survey was conducted by telephone June 13-19, 2005 in English and Spanish.
Related web sites:
Tell a Parent – https://www.ParentsRight2Know.org
