Aside from bringing to mind the classic “slippery slope” argument, Prop 73 seems to miss the point when it freezes the right of a minor to have an abortion until 48 hours after the parents have been notified.

Masked by rhetoric that suggests parents would be able to counsel their child through an abortion, Prop 73 ignores the fact that not every family has the open, healthy lines of communication that would allow a teenage girl to discuss her sexual activity – let alone her abortion – with her parents.

While its proponents claim Prop 73 is “for our daughters’ safety,” in reality the proposition could pressure girls to opt for an illegal means of abortion, or could force them to deal with the health risks related to abortions performed later in the pregnancy.

Additionally, the language of Prop 73 hints at the true intent of the proposition. It defines abortion as “causing death of an unborn child, a child conceived but not yet born” – a very pro-life, conservative definition for a proposition that claims to have only the best interests of children in mind. In siding with pro-lifers in defining abortion as it has, Prop 73 fails to be the good-natured, nonpartisan proposition it pretends to be.

This is one slippery slope we’re unwilling to navigate.

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