Introduction
Proposition 4, also known as "Sarah's Law," would amend the constitution to prohibit abortion for unemancipated girls until 48 hours after minor's parents or legal guardian has been notified. In cases where parental abuse has been reported, alternative family members could be notified instead. There are several exceptions to the law, including parental waivers, court waivers and cases of emergency where physicians need to act quickly to save the life of the minor. Proposition 4 is the third parental notification initiative to make the ballot in the last three years.
Proposition 4
In 1953, state law was amended to allow minors to receive, without parental consent or notification, the same types of prenatal medical care available to an adult. Based on this law and later developments, minors were able to obtain abortions in California without parental consent or notification." In 1987, the state legislature amended the law to require that minors obtain parental consent before getting an abortion, but the amendment was challenged in court. Ten years later, in 1997, the California Supreme Court struck down the law on grounds that it violated the minor's constitutional right to privacy.
Proposition 4 is the third parental notification initiative to make the ballot in the last three years. Both Proposition 73 in November 2005 and Proposition 85 in November 2006 would have required doctors to notify a minor's parent or legal guardian 48 hours before performing an abortion. Both propositions failed with the voters. Proposition 4 introduces new language and guidelines for parental notification. Like the earlier propositions, Proposition 4 would require doctors to notify a minor's parent or legal guardian 48 hours before performing an abortion. Parental consent would not be required. Proposition 4 outlines several exceptions to the notification provision, such as medical emergencies and parent approved waivers.
Physicians would be required to file a report documenting specified information to the state Department of Health Services. The department would use information to compile statistics relating to abortions performed on minors in California. Courts would be required to document and report the number of minor abortion petitions filed and granted or denied. This information would go the state Judicial Council, which would prepare the report for public viewing. Penalties would be enacted on physicians who violate provisions of the measure. In addition, minors could petition the juvenile court if they feel that they've been coerced into having an abortion. Opponents of the measure argue that petitioning a court is an ordeal that most minors, let alone minors who have gone through the trauma of an abortion, would not be able to navigate, either financially or otherwise.
Key Provisions
Proposition 4's key provisions include:
- Doctors must inform parents, legal guardians or alternative family (in cases of parental abuse) 48 hours prior to performing an abortion on an unemancipated minor. Physicians could notify parents through two methods: written notification to a parent in person or by certified mail.
- In cases where the mother's life is at risk or irreversible bodily injuries could occur, physicians could certify that the abortion is necessary in the minor's medical record.
- Parents or guardians could waive notification requirements by completing a waiver form. Parents or guardians would have to specify the time frame that the waiver would be valid for. They could choose 30 days, until a specified date, or until the teen's 18th birthday.
- In cases where the physician suspects parental abuse, they could notify an alternative family member. The physician must base his/her suspicions on a pattern of abuse of the minor by a parent(s). Physicians would be required to inform local law enforcement and child protective agencies of suspected abuse.
- Pregnant minors could petition a juvenile court to waive the notification requirement. If the court finds that the minor is mature and informed enough to decide whether to have an abortion or not, or that parental notification would not in the teen's best interest, it can waive the requirement. The court would have to hear and come to a ruling within three business days of receiving the waiver request. Courts are required to inform local law enforcement and child protective agencies of suspected abuse.
- In cases where juvenile courts deny waiving the notification, minors can appeal the decision to an appellate court. Appellate courts would have to hear and rule on appeals within four business days.
- Physicians are required to file a form reporting specified information to the Department of Health Services. The information would include the minor's month and year or birth, date and location where the abortion was performed, as well as other information about the minor. The Department of Health Services would use information gathered from the forms to issue annual reports that detail teenage abortion statistics.
- Courts are required to report to the state Judicial Council annually with the number of petitions filed with outcomes. These reports would be made publicly available. Minors who file petitions would be guaranteed confidentiality.
Voter Guide Lawsuit
In August 2008, Planned Parenthood of California and others filed a suit on the language of Proposition 4 which they claimed was misleading and inaccurate. In the measure, "Sarah" (not the juvenile's real name) is identified as a 15-year-old girl who died as a result from an abortion performed in 1994. The voter guide material submitted by the supporters of Proposition 4 read, "Sarah was only 15 when she had a clandestine abortion. Within days a high fever set in. No one knew why, or how seriously ill she was. By the time she was hospitalized and doctors determined she had a deadly infection from a torn cervix, it was too late. Sarah died. Had someone in her family known about the abortion, Sarah's life could have been saved." Opponents of the proposition argue that the measure suggests that Sarah might have avoided the abortion procedure had her parents known about it. They claim that Sarah, who was a 15-year-old at the time of the abortion, did not fit the definition of a minor in Texas, where the procedure was performed, because the girl was 15 years old and living with a common-law husband when she had the abortion (Texas law recognizes common-law marriage as does not define a 15-year-old in a common-law marriage as a minor). The court challenge asked for a ruling that the story of "Sarah" should be dropped from Proposition 4's voter guide material because the parental notification law would not have applied to her. Judge Michael Kenny of the Sacramento Superior Court ruled against the language challenge in several attempts brought before him. The language is printed in the official November 4th voter guides.