Sarah's Law (no, not MY law) - Proposition 4

I was going to write about this last night but decided to wait til today to see the results. I was hoping that we'd get a "yes" in and I wouldn't need to vent about it... but I guess I do. before you read the rest of my blog for today, I would appreciate you reading about Proposition 4 (Sarah's Law) while reading it, remember that you are just reading an informational guide for voting and that it is not written by supporters for Prop 4. it's not a yes or no for whether abortion should be illegal. it's just saying that parents should be notified within 48 hrs before the procedure will be completed except in the case of an emergency procedure (the mother's life is at stake) or parents have a history have emotional/physical abuse and there is reason to fear it, in which case another adult relative would be notified.

so here's my spiel. hopefully I'll stay on thought track so that I don't lose everyone. I can't believe Prop 4 wasn't passed! what does this say about our nation? it shows that nobody wants to take responsibility for children under 18 being sexually active. how can parents vote no for this law?! that's shirking their responsibility! they're saying "sure, I know my kids are sexually active... but as long as I don't see evidence of pregnancy, that's perfectly fine with me." WHAT?! would they be saying that if there were complications from the procedure and their daughter died a few days later? I doubt it. why do you think the Proposition came about in the first place? exactly a situation like that.

here's what a "no" to this says to me.... it says that children are allowed to have sex. this means that there will be no consequences for choices these children have made. that means that they'll grow up thinking that they can hide their mistakes and not have any adverse affects. it also means that parents can't be there for their children emotionally when these poor girls are going through bouts of depression. they hardly understand teenagers in the first place. random depression could mean anything, but if they knew what had happened they'd be able to help them through it and get them counseling, etc. so parents are allowing children to shirk their responsibilities by shirking their own responsibilities as a parent to be responsible for their children. I don't get it... if a child isn't attending school regularly, the parent is held responsible. but if a child gets pregnant, nobody is held responsible? and then... how does that coincide with statutory rape? so... a child can get pregnant and have an abortion without the parent knowing and successfully hides a sexual relationship with someone else protecting them as well from paying consequences for their choices. gee... this just doesn't sound logical to me. how can we bring up children like this?! they're taught to not take responsibility for anything. it's ridiculous!

I don't think it's just the fault of the parents. I think we, as a society, have promoted sexual promiscuity. think about it... look at what you see on tv & at the movies. even PG-13 stuff is a bit risque. and music?! helloooooo! has anyone listened to it lately? yes, I enjoy music as much as the next person.... but children should not be exposed to some songs. I've worked at an elementary/jr. high and have definitely heard kids that are too young to really be thinking about anything sexual singing songs that have blatant sexual connotations. yes, we can lay the blame on parents for not monitoring what their kids are doing. but at the same time, we are we putting it in their face and making it hard for them to avoid. there's got to be some kind of healthy balance. heck, kids can't even go around town without seeing signs up with half naked women (and even men). what are parents supposed to do, put blinders on them?! it's just not logical.

I feel that with this proposition there could be modifications. I'm glad that they do take into account that parents can be abusive and that they should not be notified in that case. but at the same time, I think that the kids & parents should be given options for counseling whether or not they have decided to go through with the abortion. it really is a life altering situation. parents need to know how to deal with a child that has had an abortion. children need to know how to deal with the emotions/feelings that they experience. if they decide to go through with the pregnancy and give it up for adoption, they need to have counseling available to them for that as well. and if they decide to keep the baby, they'll need training. nobody ever said taking responsibility for your actions was easy... but as long as you have support it'll be easier than it could have been.

I don't understand how we could vote no on this... it's sad to see that our state has come to this. I hope and pray that somehow this gets overturned. for the children's sake. they need their parents (especially in hard times)... but most of them would never actually admit it. and the only reason many have abortions without telling their parents is out of fear how their parents will react. I admit that some parents might go overboard and cause problems, but with this law those situations can be avoided.

anyhow, I didn't say all I wanted to and not nearly in the manner I had planned last night... but my lunch is calling my name and I want to eat it. haha :) feel free to share your thoughts on this subject. if you hold a different view point, please share... I want to try to understand your thoughts on it. perhaps there's something I'm missing here. but after reading the proposition, I firmly believe that it should have resulted in a yes. perhaps people only knew the general idea that a vote yes would mean parents would be notified but not about the ways to protect a child if her parents could be expected to abuse her. if I didn't know that and I had grown up in an abusive home, I'm sure I would have voted no as well. maybe the general public wasn't aware of all the details. I hope...