Vote No on Prop 4 - Keep Teens Safe

Dangerous initiatives will be lurking on the November ballot in California. For the third time in four years, opponents of legal abortion are attempting to restrict teenagers’ access to abortion.

Proposition 4 is similar to two ballot measures that voters wisely struck down in recent years—Prop 85 in November 2006 and Prop 73 in November 2005. Like them, Prop 4 would amend the state constitution to require parents to be notified or for the teenager to obtain approval from a judge—both of which could dangerously delay pregnant teenagers’ ability to receive counseling and medical care.

Mandatory parental notification laws like Prop 4 put teenagers in real danger. They create barriers to pregnant teenagers’ ability to access critical medical care. A scared, pregnant teen who can’t go to her parents can feel trapped and desperate. She might choose to have an unsafe, illegal abortion. She might even contemplate suicide. That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics, California Nurses Association, California Teachers Association, California Medical Association, and California Association of School Counselors all oppose Prop 4.

It’s time to show once and for all that Californians want to protect the safety of our teenagers.

Read More »

No on 4 | Learn More | How You Can Help Defeat Prop 4