Parental Notification & Child Protection Act

This November, California voters will be given the opportunity to reduce state abortions and restore parental rights in the legislature! 

Proposition 73, the Parental Notification and Child Protection Act, has been put on the ballot and will require that at least one parent must be notified before an abortion can be performed on their minor daughter. There is a judicial bypass provision for cases of physical or sexual abuse by the parent or guardian and an exemption for medical emergencies.  Read the complete text.

While only 600,00 signatures were needed to qualify the initiative for the ballot, pro-life advocates turned in more than one million. A Zogby poll published in June of 2002 indicated 71 percent of California residents surveyed support parental notification; the majority of U.S. states now have parental notification or parental consent laws on the books and such laws have reduced teen abortions by as much as 30 percent.

The California state legislature passed a parental notification law in the mid 1980s. The state Supreme Court ruled the law constitutional in 1996 but, with a change in personnel, the court reversed itself in 1998.  This ballot proposal is significant in that it is a constitutional amendment which would not be subject to the state Supreme Court. While federal courts would have jurisdiction over the amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that parental notification is constitutional as long as minors don't have to tell their parents in abuse situations.

CPLC is working on a variety of materials to help you spread the message in your community. We will soon have petitions and posters available for your school, church, and pro-life organization! 

Print the flyer!
High resolution version for printing at a service provider
(high bandwidth internet connection recommended)

Low resolution for home printing
(optimized for low bandwidth (dial-up))

Important talking points for Parental Notification:

[ Minors cannot go on field trips without parental notification and consent.

[ Minors cannot be sentenced to death because they have poor or under-developed judgment, but they can unilaterally decide to have an abortion.

[ Parents will be held responsible for any costs or complications stemming from their minor daughters' abortion.

[ Public opinion polls show a majority of Americans agree that parents should be informed about there minors' abortion.

[ Minors cannot drink, get tattoos, pierce their bodies, smoke, or serve in the military without parental consent.

[ Parental involvement provides children with vital information that would help avert medical risks and complications.

[ Parental involvement would increase the likelihood that proper follow-up is provided.

[ Minors who are victims of rape will continue to be victimized without parental involvement.

[ Provisions within the law can bypass parental notification and go straight to the courts in cases of incest.

[ The United States Supreme Court has upheld parental involvement laws with judicial bypass provisions.

[ A minor’s ability to conceive a child does not mean she is able to make a mature decision about an abortion.

[ If the majority of minor females suffering from teen pregnancy shared these matters with their parents, then no one would take issue with parental notification laws.

[ Parental notification could facilitate improved family communication and decision-making.

[ Parental involvement will help bring crimes such as statutory rape to the attention of law enforcement officials.

[ The media always discusses the negative impacts of parental involvement, but never the positive.

[ Minor females are encouraged to have abortions by boyfriends who could be prosecuted for statutory rape.