(November 1, 2005) — Picture a perfect world: 16 year-old Jenny confides to her parents that, after an episode of unprotected sex, she is now pregnant. Finding herself too young for the responsibility of parenthood, Jenny wants to get an abortion. Her parents lovingly and understandingly support her decision as a mature young woman and allow her to proceed with the abortion. Unfortunately, this ideal reaction is extremely rare. Apply it to yourself personally for proof. How many parents do you know would react similarly to Jenny’s parents? In most cases, the girl would be abused, disowned and condemned for life as a woman of questionable morals. Worse, she might be forced to carry on with the pregnancy and have the baby. Up until now, such a situation could be avoided in California. Any minor under 18 has the right to get an abortion with complete confidentiality; there has been no need for a parent to get involved. Apparently, this alone has been working. According to the Centers for Disease Control, abortion rates in California have been gradually declining and are now at their lowest, thanks mostly in part to greater knowledge about abstinence and the importance of having protected sex. However, Prop. 73, threatens to obliterate this right that girls under 18, as human beings, should be entitled to. If adopted, the law would demand that a minor give a 48-hour notice to their parent or guardian before having an abortion, similar to 36 states, where this kind of proposition is already law. If a girl decides that it’s to her benefit to have an abortion, she will find a way to do so regardless of her parent’s input. This can be done either by going out of state to get the abortion or taking a more dangerous alternative – getting it done illegally by a non-professional in what are called “back-alley abortions,” extremely dangerous and sometimes deadly procedures. Though it claims to have the best interests of girls at heart, Prop. 73 actually puts them in danger. If a girl doesn’t want to willingly tell her parents about doing something as important and life effecting as getting an abortion, there is probably a good reason for this. Prop 73. unfairly assumes that every family can calmly and rationally discuss what to do when faced with the issue of a pregnant daughter and similarly concludes that a minor would be unable to make an important life decision without her parents. So if the passing of this proposition only puts minors at risk, takes away their privacy rights as human beings, and fails to decrease abortion rates, what exactly will it accomplish? What comes next? A ban on abortion altogether. This appears to be one of the many incidents where rights that activists have been fighting for decades to gain are being trampled on. This causes serious alarm for those who are concerned that all the gains on controversial issues “radicals” have been making over the years are slowly deteriorating. This is also a serious issue for everyone to consider; although you may not think this proposition could affect you, you never know when it will change your life or the life of someone you love forever.