No on Proposition 73

This odious bit of garbage is yet another backhanded attempt to limit abortions under the guise of parental rights.

The selling point is the requirement of either parental notification or judicial approval before a minor can get an abortion.

The right may mock the "worst case" scenarios propounded by Prop 73's opponent where-in a scared teenage girl is forced to decide between having an unwanted baby or having her abusive father notified of her pregnancy. But I have to agree that such situations are all too real and too frequent.

When I was in high school I had a friend who was terrified that she'd become pregnant (not by me thank you, I was unerringly responsible even back then). And though the pregnancy was a false alarm (as well as a wake-up call) my very bright friend was mostly terrified about the consequences should her abusive father finding out.

And what if her only other option was a court order? Get real. What terrified teen is going to have the presence of mind, little less the money to step into our legal system?

But even if you are ok with the parental notification aspects prop 73, there's a more compelling reason to vote against it.

In addition to costing millions in added bureaucracy, prop 73's authors have inserted a poison pill into its language: Prop 73 "Defines abortion as causing 'death of the unborn child, a child conceived but not yet born.'"

That is to say that life begins at conception.

If you believe as I do in a woman's right to control the fate of her own body, this little statement should send shivers down your spine. If this is voted into law we're only a lawsuit or two away from having all abortions defined as homicides.

OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY OF PROPOSITION 73