Get the FactsTake ActionEndorsementsMultimediaNewsAbout UsBy Elizabeth Pirruccello Newhall
The Oregonian
September 13, 2006
Almost all teenagers discuss their abortion decision with their parents, so Measure 43, the ballot measure that would mandate parental notification for minors seeking an abortion, would affect only a few. But among them are the teens with the most complex needs.
Obviously, healthy dialogue is best for all families, and those of us who provide health care to teens always encourage it. But Measure 43 is naive at best and dangerous at worst.
I have raised three teenagers and taken in twice that many more. I've delivered thousands of babies and performed thousands of abortions, including for countless teens in both categories. Nothing would make me happier than to have all my patients in loving communication with their parents.
But what about the girl who watched her sister get pummeled and kicked out of her home when her dad found out she was pregnant? Or the 16-year-old who showed up in labor not sure where to turn? Her 16-year-old boyfriend was trying to find housing, her mom was an unavailable addict on the streets, and her dad in California "doesn't want her."
These young women are real. They're my patients. Where do I go for parents?
I was the doctor waiting to treat Spring Adams. Remember her? She was the Idaho girl whose father shot her dead in 1989 on learning of her intended trip to Portland to abort a pregnancy resulting from his repeated rape.
I have cared for too many teens whose homes are not safe. Last week The Oregonian reported that almost 600,000 calls are made annually to child protective services. Remember those kids while you ponder Measure 43.
Oregon voters rejected parental notification in 1990 because they understood it was bad medicine. The Legislature rejected it shortly thereafter. If we must have this conversation again, let us at least consider genuine medical facts. The facts irrefutably support the safety of abortion both medically and psychologically. Dr. Frank S. Rosenbloom dilutes his credibility when he argues that a surgical abortion even approximates the risk of childbirth, much less is three times more dangerous ("Teens need parents in a time of crisis," Aug. 23).
Here are the facts: One in 12,000 women dies in childbirth; one in a million does with early surgical abortion.
Oregon law recognizes the right of older teens to consent for medical procedures precisely to eliminate subtle obstacles to self-determination. Medical literature abounds with data showing teenagers will forgo care rather than confide in parents when they do not feel safe. All some teens will hear is that we have to call their parents about anything and clinics will stop seeing them for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and birth control as well. If making abortion illegal failed as a deterrent, is it likely this measure will really inspire better communication than we already have?
About 300,000 kids are removed from their homes each year in the United States for their own safety, 70,000 of them permanently. No matter how you do the math, that's a lot of teens in Oregon this measure would put at risk. These young people can't afford your vote for a measure that would reinforce our collective denial about how we think things should be but just aren't for some.
Measure 43 is bad medicine. Both the Oregon Medical Association and the Oregon Nurses Association are opposed to it. The middle ground is clear: contraception, education and better access to health care. Europe has one-tenth our abortion rate using this approach.
If even one girl gets hurt -- which is almost inevitable if this measure becomes law -- we will all hang our heads in shame. Oregonians are smarter than that.
Elizabeth Pirruccello Newhall is an obstetrician and gynecologist at Everywoman's Health in Portland and is medical director of the Downtown Women's Center.
