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Editorial
Hood River News
On the surface, Measure 43 seems like a sound idea.
Require parental notification to parents of young women 16 and under who seek abortions. Clinically, it makes sense to require parents to be involved in the decision over a serious medical procedure such as this.
But voters should say no to Measure 43. There are larger considerations affecting young women who face this difficult decision.
Let us be clear: no one wishes for anyone to have an abortion. Nor is a no vote on 43 an endorsement of the practice. And while the rate of abortions among women 20 and under is greater than among women between 20 and 40, the rate of 20-and-under abortions has not gone up in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Measure 43 is a solution looking for a problem.
The national teen pregnancy rate (aged 15-19) declined 36 percent between 1990 and 2002. The U.S. teen birth rate is at a record low (41.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19, down from 61.8 births in 1991). The teen pregnancy rate in 2002 was 74.5 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19, down from its peak in 1990 of 116.9, according to The National Campaign Against Teen Pregnancy, between 1991 and 2004, the teen birth rate has declined for all racial/ethnic groups, including 21 percent for Hispanics, 38 percent for non-Hispanic whites, and 47 percent for non-Hispanic blacks.
Furthermore, Measure 43 tries to legislate family behavior. Abortion providers encourage teenagers to tell a parent or another important family member about their plans, and most teens do.
When teens know that health care providers are forced by law to tell their parents before providing services, they are less willing to get health care related to sexual activity.
A girl's pregnancy might be the result or manifestation of family behavior: alcoholism, emotional or physical abuse, or incest. To involve such parents by way of a form letter could invite further abuse.
The American Association of University Women state in their Voters Pamphlet argument against Measure 43, "Under Measure 43 a victim of incest will become a victim a second time, when she is pushed away from the support and help she needs."
Measure 43 proponents point out that a "judicial bypass" clause gives teens an opportunity for confidential review (without parents present) of their reason for requesting an abortion. But the bypass is more of a roadblock for most teens. Going to court is usually intimidating to even most adults, and even in the presence of an attorney.
As the League of Women Voters note in the Voters Pamphlet: "the administrative and court procedures, specified by Measure 43 to avoid a certified letter being sent to parents, are too complex for most teenagers to follow."
Also worth considering is the argument in the pamphlet by four pastors from Portland and Medford, who state, "We understand that every family is different, with their own challenges and problems, imposing a one-size-fits-all government mandate will not help teens from troubled homes."
Abortion truly can have terrible consequences, but there is another, greater threat to teenage girls' lives -- alcohol.
Thirty-four percent of 8th-grade girls reported drinking alcohol in the last month, compared to 30 percent of 8th grade boys, according to the annual Oregon Healthy Teens Survey.
"The statistics reveal the extent of what can rightly be called a public health crisis in our state," said Judy Cushing, President/CEO of Oregon Partnership, a non-profit organization providing substance abuse prevention education and treatment referral.
According to national research, adolescents who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who begin drinking at 21.
Oregon Partnership has recently launched its "Face it, Parents" media campaign -- funded by the Oregon Department of Human Services -- which encourages adults to be pro-active with their children about the realities of underage drinking.
That is the approach that parents should take — and indeed most do — for preventing teen pregnancy and ensuring daughters make the right choices about sexuality. A healthy, if difficult, series of conversations with boys and girls, starting at the dawn of adolescence, is the key to preventing any need for abortion, not a heavy-handed ballot measure.
