Parents needed in all medical decisions

By: CINDY MOLES | Saturday, October 1, 2005 9:21 PM PDT ∞

A young girl is pregnant and frightened. It is at a time like this when she needs you, her parent, the most. But right now your daughter can have a major medical procedure without your even knowing about it. Why? Sacramento legislators determined that it is not necessary for parents to be involved in a particular medical procedure ---- abortion.

This is the crux of Proposition 73, an initiative on the November ballot requiring that a parent be notified 48 hours before a physician can perform an abortion on a minor girl. The language includes an exception for emergency situations and allows for judicial bypass. Prop. 73 involves parents in this important medical decision.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is pro-choice, understands that this is an issue of parental rights and involvement and agrees with the primary aim of Prop. 73. Last week he told the Sacramento Bee, "I have a daughter. I wouldn't want to have someone take my daughter to a hospital for an abortion or something and not tell me."

Dr. Steve Guffanti, an emergency room physician who also serves on the Vista Unified School Board, stated his concerns as a medical professional: "If on one hand children are not allowed to be given aspirin in school without parental consent and on the other they can undergo a surgical procedure without so much as parental notification, there is no consistency in the protection of our children. Abortion is a life and death issue, not only for the unborn child, but for the mother, who is herself a child and who is too young to understand the risks. Parental involvement in medical decisions is essential to the health and lives of their children."

As the former executive director of a pregnancy resource center in Oceanside, Kimberly Regnier agrees, saying, "We must face the reality that young people are losing their lives to abortion and there is currently nothing a parent can do about this. We also must recognize that the decisions some girls make in having abortions can have other medical complications that can impact their health for life."

Indeed, abortion has many health risks, including future infertility, infection and even death. An international research project recently found that abortion is three times more likely to be fatal than giving birth.

Abortion also exacts an emotional toll that can have long-lasting effects and further demonstrates the importance of parental counsel to weigh the alternatives of motherhood and adoption. In addition, if the girl is a victim of abuse, a parent's rapid intervention is critical.

That Prop. 73 even needs to be on the ballot reminds us that our children are innocent participants in a cultural calamity. We are dangerously off course in the area of sexuality, particularly as it affects our young people. But parents can help.

What can you do? Talk to your teens. Teach them they are valuable and that waiting for marriage is worth it. Your opinion is important to them, even if they act like it isn't. And vote for Prop. 73. Our children must not make life and death decisions alone.

Carlsbad resident Cindy Moles is area director for San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties of Concerned Women for America of California.