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California Republican Party Hires Strategist To Build Christian Conservative Support for Parental Notification Ballot Initiative

The California Republican Party recently hired Gary Marx, a campaign strategist who worked on President Bush’s re-election campaign, to build support among Christian conservatives for a Nov. 8 special election ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to require abortion providers to notify the parents or guardians of unmarried minors seeking abortion 48 hours before the procedure, the Los Angeles Times reports (Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 10/13). The initiative — known as Proposition 73 — includes exceptions for medical emergencies and when a parent or guardian signs a waiver allowing the procedure to happen sooner. It also states that abortion providers would have to keep statistics on the number of abortions performed on minors. Failure to comply with the regulations could result in civil fines (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 9/30). Marx — who has served as executive director of both the Virginia Christian Coalition and the Judicial Confirmation Network, which has sought to build support for Bush’s judicial nominees — will assemble up to 10 organizers to rally support for the measure among evangelicals and other religious conservatives, according to the Times. State Republican Party Chief Operating Officer Mike Vallante said the project is expected to cost at least $150,000 (Los Angeles Times, 10/13).

Economist Examines Initiative’s Possible Effects
The Economist on Thursday examined the “open question” of how Proposition 73 might affect pregnancy and abortion rates among teenagers in California, which is “one of the most sexually liberated states in the nation.” California has the fifth-highest teen abortion rate and seventh-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. Although 34 states require “some parental involvement” in teens’ decisions to undergo abortion, there is “no hard-and-fast correlation” between parental notification and teen abortion rates, the Economist reports. “And even if notification laws deter abortions, they do not seem to deter teen pregnancies,” according to the Economist (Economist, 10/15).

L.A. Times Profiles Publisher Financially Backing Proposition 73
The Los Angeles Times on Monday profiled James Holman, the publisher of several Catholic newspapers and a secular weekly newspaper in California, who “is tapping his sizeable fortune to advance” Proposition 73. Holman “is by far the leading contributor to the cause,” donating more than $1.1 million of a total of nearly $1.8 million provided by supporters, according to the Times. He has made contributions in the form of loans, cash and nonmonetary donations, much of which funded the gathering of signatures needed to qualify the measure for a vote. Holman’s supporters say his actions are driven by “his deep religious beliefs” and his “overriding concern” for the “sanctity of life,” according to the Times. Opponents of the measure say Holman’s actions prove that those who support the measure “have an agenda” that ultimately aims to limit access to abortion. “It concerns us that someone with such deep personal and religious views is able to enter the arena of public policy and essentially force those views on everyone else,” Kathy Kneer, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said (Warren, Los Angeles Times, 10/17).


“KPBS News” on Thursday reported on an Alan Guttmacher Institute study that found parental notification laws can affect teenagers’ health. The segment includes comments from Cynthia Dailard, study author and senior public policy associate at AGI (Goldberg, “KPBS News,” KPBS, 10/13). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . ?2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.