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While we're
waiting...
May 22nd - within
the next week to ten days the Secretary of State should officially declare Sarah's
Law qualified for the Nov. 08 ballot.
(Sarah's Law will require a doctor to notify one family member before
performing an abortion on an under-18-year-old girl.)
This past week, volunteers have emailed and faxed California newspaper editors and
reporters the following two letters:
How to spot unsupported claims in the parental
notification debate
In a letter to all
California newspapers, Catherine Short, one of the authors of
Sarah's Law, lists seven unsupported claims repeated in editorials and news stories
during the fights over Proposition 73 in 2005 and Propostition 85 in 2006 concerning:
- The teen pregnancy
rate dropping
- Girls
already telling their parents about abortion decision
-
Teens consulting another trusted adult
-
Girls having good reason not to tell parents
-
Parental involvement laws causing delayed abortions
- Girls seeking illegal abortions or being beaten
by parents
- Teen birth rate increasing
The letter is accompanied by supporting documents
- a
Guttmacher Institute study
and an article from
Family Planning Perspectives.
Click here to read the Unsupported Claims letter.
Insanity
In a subsequent email to California newspapers
and editors, Sarah's Law staffers explain the difference between Sarah's Law and
Propositions 73 and 85.
The letter begins:
"Insanity is
doing the same thing in the same way, expecting a different result." - Chinese Proverb
The proponents of Sarah's Law, a new family member
notification initiative that will appear on the November ballot, are not insane...
Click here to read the Insanity letter.
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