Yes on 85

PARENTS’ RIGHT TO KNOW & CHILD PROTECTION INITIATIVE

1703 India Street, San Diego, CA  92101
Toll-free (866) 828-8355
email: cristorey@charter.net

 September 29, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Maria Elena Kennedy
(909) 987-9283
(626) 374-8910

 Cardinal Mahony issues special taped message to Catholics on Proposition 85

In an extraordinary move, Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, has prepared taped messages in Spanish and English to be played on Sunday, Oct. 1, at all 288 parishes in the archdiocese. In the message, Cardinal Mahony urges Catholics to vote yes on Proposition 85 and to pray for its passage every day until the November elections.

Proposition 85, the Parents’ Right to Know and Child Protection Initiative, would amend the state constitution to require that at least one parent of a minor girl be notified before undergoing an abortion.

“As you may know, under current California law a minor girl under the age of 18 cannot leave school to go on a field trip, she cannot get a flu shot, a tooth pulled, or even an aspirin from the school nurse without one of her parents being notified,” the cardinal says in the taped message. “Yet that same child -- a girl as young as 12 years old -- can be taken by a complete stranger to an abortion center, put under general anesthesia, and undergo a surgical or chemical abortion without her parents’ knowledge or consent.”

Cardinal Mahony has asked priests at all parishes of the Los Angeles Archdiocese to play his taped “Yes on 85” message at all Masses on Sunday, October 1, 2006 – designated as “Respect Life Sunday.” If the tape cannot be played on Oct. 1, it may be played on another Sunday during the month of October, which is “Respect Life Month.”

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with 4.3 million Catholics, includes Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Below is the complete text of the cardinal’s recorded message:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As you may know, under current California law a minor girl under the age of 18 cannot leave school to go on a field trip, she cannot get a flu shot, a tooth pulled, or even an aspirin from the school nurse without one of her parents being notified.

Yet that same child -- a girl as young as 12 years old -- can be taken by a complete stranger to an abortion center, put under general anesthesia, and undergo a surgical or chemical abortion without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

This is why I urge you to support, work for and vote YES on Proposition 85, the Parents’ Right to Know and Child Protection Initiative, on Election Day, Tuesday, November 7th.

Proposition 85 requires a physician to notify at least one parent 48 hours before performing an abortion on a girl under 18 years old.

Parents have a duty to protect their own children.  Engaged in the raising of their daughter, parents have insight into what is best for their children; they know her personal and medical history.  Parents are the best ones to help a minor daughter understand all her options if she becomes pregnant.  Without parental involvement, other influences can dominate.

Parental notification laws are desperately needed to protect young girls.

Here is another vital reason you and I should vote YES on Proposition 85 on November 7th:  secret abortions on minors allow the exploitation of tens of thousands of vulnerable girls, leaving them physically and emotionally devastated.

More than thirty states now have parental notification or consent laws, and these states have seen a dramatic drop in teen abortions AND teen pregnancies as a result of this change in the law.  Here in California, the Office of the Legislative Analyst estimates that parental notification would reduce the number of abortions in our state by 25% per year. 

So please vote YES on Proposition 85 on November 7th.  And please do all you can to promote this crucial measure, and urge your family, friends and neighbors to do the same.

I hope you will join with me in praying daily, from now until the November elections, that voters will strongly support Proposition 85.

Thank you, and may God bless you and your family!

 

A transcript of the Cardinal’s message is also available on the website of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles:

www.la-archdiocese.org/news/story.php?newsid=799