Proposition 73 would set up a "hit list" of California judges

Proposition 73 would set up a "hit list" of California judges
by Tom Condit

California's November 8 special election ballot is led by Proposition 73, a "parental notification" initiative aimed at making it more difficult for young women to get abortions. As part of that difficulty, it creates bureaucratic red tape for abortion providers and seeks to intimidate judges, who would have the power to authorize a young woman to get an abortion without telling her parents about it.

The proposition mandates a 48-hour waiting period for a woman under 18 to receive an abortion, during which her parents must be notified on an official form of her desire. Her only alternative is to obtain a special order from a judge letting her keep her privacy rights.

The Judicial Council would be mandated to keep a public list of how many privacy petitions each judge had received, and the number he or she had granted. This list could then be used by the "pro-life" movement to target judges who supported the privacy rights of young women.

Don't think that targetting would just be at election time. The authoritarian wing of the anti-choice movement demonstrates at people's homes and workplaces. The terrorist wing of this so-called "pro-life" movement murders doctors and health care workers. Why would we expect them to leave out judges?

What the authors of this proposition want is to create a situation where young women have the "right" to petition for their privacy -- but where there are no judges who will grant those privacy petitions. They hope to get rid of those judges who have courage and compassion, and intimidate the rest.

Proposition 73 was put on the ballot by three right-wing millionaires who are opposed to contraception as well as abortion. They're not interested in "parents' rights" -- they want to take away the medical rights of women under 18 as the first step toward taking them away from all women.

Vote NO on Proposition 73 on Tuesday, November 8.