As election day closes in, a Field Poll shows 45% of voters in favor and 43% opposed to Prop 4 (parental notification for minor's abortions). An earlier Field Poll, from September of this year, showed the initiative ahead by 49% to 41%. If history is any indicator of the outcome, it's heartening to know that nearly identical initiatives from the past two election cycles (Prop 85 and Prop 73) were also leading in the polls before election day and wound up being voted down.
LAist has followed Prop 4 through en-dorse-ments, ads, and court hearings, and it seems pretty clear that the proposition has made it this far by relying on fear-mongering and lying. If this kind of campaign works, leading to an ideology-based, anti-abortion amendment to the Constitution of what is supposedly one of the most progressive states in the Union, it's a little scary to think of the implications not only for California, but for the rest of the country as well.
Photo by atomicShed via Flickr
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I'm still scared this will pass.
I'm with you Zach.
yeah - i try to be optimistic, but it's always just a little too close for comfort...
Ditto to the comments. But still, a little heartening that the previous two props (85 and 73) were soundly defeated after polls showing close numbers.
What seems eerie about this time around is that there's not as much vocal opposition to prop 4 as there was with previous props. Or maybe I'm wrong.
But in any case, hope it doesn't pass.
(and if it does? probably will go to the CA supreme court anyway, because there are too many areas of concern in the prop - danger to the patient, new rules locking up doctors, etc).
i'm not sure why you wouldn't want this to pass. i'd like to see some steps taken to prevent young girls who don't know any better from killing their unborn children - nothing good can come of that, and no girl could possibly understand what she's doing without the help of a caring parent. she could suffer depression, and who knows what else later in life when she realizes what she's done.
i'll be voting YES.
I've seen one ad against Prop 4. I thought it's "arguments" were weak. The ads for Prop 4 make sense..to me at least.
Peyton did it every occur to you that the guardian you want to be notified might be RESPONSIBLE for the pregnancy? Oh and thanks for sharing your religious views. I, for one, have heard them for far too many years...they still make no sense.
peyton1 - everyone wants a young woman to talk to a caring parent in this situation, but not everyone has a caring parent. prop 4 can't legislate happy families into existence, it can only force scared young women into desperate measures.
Peyton1, most girls DO discuss this situation with their parents or guardians. The ones who don't have a damn good reason.
This prop passing isn't going to stop underage girls from getting an abortion without notifying guardians. It's just going to stop them from getting a legal abortion, which means that some of those girls will die.
Becky Bell
Vote Yes on 4 if you think women are imbeciles who shouldn't be allowed to make decisions for themselves and you'd like to see teenagers die from illegal, back alley abortions!
Why don't we just deny women the right to vote while we're at it? I guess our constitution only applies to people over 18? The rest of the population doesn't have legally-protected rights? Sorry - if you think the government should tell women what to do with their bodies you're a misogynist, and I really couldn't disagree with you more.
Is anyone else scared that we only need a simple majority to pass a constitutional amendment?
And I think Prop 4 hasn't gotten a lot of press this election cycle because Prop 8 is hogging the glory! (Don't worry, I'm obviously voting NO on that too.)
If you're a good consevative Republican - vote NO on this Prop. Stop letting the government mettle in our personal affairs.
anjali, i think you're right, there hasn't been as much attention paid to prop 4 this year, and it's likely because of what msmerymac (i just got your name, that's awesome) is saying - progressives who were involved in past parental notification initiatives are more riled up about 8 this year - or for that matter, about obama. there wasn't much else going on during 85 and 73 that would split the base of media, volunteers, etc. the way there has been this year.
Linkracer: You are so right. It's the same with Prop 8. That's why I'm so confused as to why the votes are so close! If you are liberal, you want the government to ensure equal rights, not take them away. If you are conservative, you don't want the government legislating personal choice at all, so what gives?