California Pro-Abortion Groups Launch TV Ads Blasting Prop. 73

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 27, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

California Pro-Abortion Groups Launch TV Ads Blasting Prop. 73 Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 27, 2005

Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) — The big-budget campaign by abortion advocates to defeat Proposition 73 is starting to materialize as pro-abortion groups launched a new television campaign aimed at defeating the popular parental notification on abortion measure.

The television ad aims to convince California voters who support abortion that the initiative would cause teenagers to seek illegal abortions and to avoid talking to doctors about their pregnancy. Similar laws in other states haven’t caused such reactions.

Under the proposal, abortion practitioners would be required to tell the parents of an underage teen that their daughter is considering an abortion. The notice must be given 48 hours ahead of a scheduled abortion.

The 30-second ad claims girls would resort to "desperate measures" instead of "seeking medical care and counseling" if they are required by law to discuss an abortion with their parents.

The commercial shows a mother in her 40s saying, "If my daughter were pregnant, of course I’d want her to tell me, but Prop. 73 can’t force teenagers to talk to their parents."

But Stan Devereux, communications director for the Yes on 73 campaign, says the ad is designed to make parents seem like "the enemy."

"Their most recent campaign tactic exposes their true feelings about parents–that they are dispensable and can be substituted by a stranger," he said of the new ads.

Devereux says abortion advocates are getting desperate in light of a new poll showing Prop. 73 has strong support — even with those who say they back abortion.

"Children have to get permission to receive an aspirin at school or leave campus for a field trip," said Devereux. "It is ridiculous to think Mom or Dad should be kept in the dark about a serious surgical procedure."

California voters apparently agree. A new poll conducted by Survey USA found that 60 percent of California voters back Proposition 73 while just 38 percent oppose it. Two percent of potential voters are undecided.

Two weeks ago, a Survey USA poll found Proposition 73 passing by a 59 to 39 percent margin, so the trend towards supporting the statewide initiative seems to be holding.

In fact, the polling data finds that even 43 percent of those who identify themselves as supporting abortion support the parental notification measure. Women support the ballot proposition by a 60 to 38 percent margin, Hispanic voters by a 71 to 26 percent margin, and black voters by a 70 to 28 percent margin.

Opponents of Proposition 73 have raised $3 million to fund television ads against it.

Related web sites:
Parents Right to Know – https://www.parentsright2know.org
California Parents Rights – https://www.caparentsrights.org