Cardinal Mahony issues special taped message
to Catholics on Proposition 85
Click here to obtain a pulpit announcement
Click
here for a double-sided insert (PDF Format)
Click here for a one page flyer
in [English] and [Spanish]
(PDF Format)
What is Priests
for Life doing to assist the California ballot initiative?
Thanks to over 1 million
petition signatures, Californians will vote this November to require parental
notification prior to an abortion performed on an unemancipated minor.
Years ago, the California Supreme Court struck down a parental involvement law
passed by the legislature, claiming that the law violated the state
constitution's privacy clause. Proposition 85, if passed this November, would
amend the California constitution to specifically mandate parental notification
at least 48 hours before a girl's abortion, except in cases of medical emergency
or when the minor obtains a judicial waiver.
This year, Proposition 85 proponents intend to make clear a key issue - that
adult male predators of vulnerable young girls can more easily cover up their
crimes when minors can have secret, state funded abortions without their
parents' knowledge. A study of over 46,000 pregnancies of school age girls in
California found that over two-thirds involved adult fathers whose mean age was
22.6 years. An examination of law enforcement records shows that Planned
Parenthood, while performing tens of thousands of abortions on minor girls,
filed almost no reports of sexual abuse or statutory rape.
Over half of the states in the
USA have laws in place that require that a parent (or both parents) of a minor
who seeks an abortion be notified and, in some cases give their consent, before
the abortion can occur.
These parental involvement
laws enjoy the support of strong majorities of the American people, who believe
that parents have a right to know that their daughter will undergo surgery that
kills her child. Most parents also believe that their daughter has the right to
be protected against the isolation and pressure in which the abortion "decision"
is normally made. After all, the decision is not usually hers, but rather the
result of friends, or the baby's father, or abortion clinic personnel telling
her it is "the only thing to do."
Some of the states' parental
involvement laws are currently tied up in court, and we can always count on the
groups that call themselves "pro-choice" to fight hard to deny parental rights.
After all, every time a parent intervenes to provide his or her daughter with
the strength necessary to do what is right, the abortion business loses a sale.
And indeed, parental involvement laws reduce the numbers of abortions.
We urge all Californians to
learn about the initiative and to volunteer their time and energy to see that it
passes. Helpful websites include:
Parents Right
to Know:
www.parentsright2know.org
A few helpful facts to consider:
- A minor cannot be issued an aspirin at school without parental consent.
- A minor cannot go on field trip without
parental consent.
- A minor cannot drink, get a tattoo, pierce her body, smoke, or serve in the
military without parental consent.
- This initiative would only require parental notification for abortion, not
consent.
- A minor cannot be sentenced to death because minors have poor or
under-developed judgment, but she can unilaterally decide to have an abortion.
- Parents will be held responsible for any costs or complications stemming from
their minor daughter’s abortion.
Parental involvement laws, of course, will not end abortion, but they do limit
the effects of an existing immoral abortion policy. In California, the existing
policy has resulted in more abortions than in any other state. Let us accept our
moral responsibility to support this new parental notification initiative.
What is
Priests for Life doing to assist the California ballot initiative?
Priests for Life has made the public aware of this initiative by means of our
television and radio interviews, letters, and emails. In particular, our
educational efforts all year round regarding why parents have a right to know
about a minor-age daughter’s abortion are helping pro-life people in the state
argue against the pro-aborts.
Priests for Life continues to keep the priests of California – and all the
priests across the country – aware of the urgency of ending abortion, and
encourages the efforts of the various dioceses in this regard. We also have
promoted an awareness of how the abortion industry exploits young girls and
teenagers.
Our overall educational activity about elections
(www.priestsforlife.org/elections), of course, ties into this ballot initiative
and assists people to know how to generate more votes.
Fr. Frank and other members of our Pastoral Team have preached in various parts
of California, encouraging parishioners to support this initiative.
Fr. Pavone on Prop. 85: Abortion
Industry Will Spend Millions to Maintain its 'Sneak Rule' in California