Parents want to know what's going on in their kids' lives but, it is a privilege, not a right, earned by being supportive enough that their children come to them when they need help.

Proposition 85, would require parental notification before a minor has an abortion, claims it encourages communication among teens and parents. In reality, it ignores the real-life situations teens face in their lives. Requiring communication between a parent and a child will not stop abortions. It may put a damper on safe, physician-assisted procedures, but it will not halt the process altogether.

Prop. 85 does not require consent, merely a warning that your kid is pregnant, and wants an abortion. Upon closer inspection, one can see how seriously this would affect some teens. A teenager whose parents would be supportive may initially go to them for support. The teens who cannot go to their parent because of physical and emotional abuse are not going to notify their parents simply because the law says they must. Instead they could resort to running away from home, back-alley abortions, or even suicide.

Most teenagers already go to their parents for help and assistance when they’re pregnant, according to a USC California Policy Institute study. However, those who do not ask for help avoid their parents because they fear for their safety. The teens this law will affect are those who come from violent or unsupportive homes. A law requiring communication is going to do nothing for the relationship between an abusive parent and their child.

Proposition 73 is Prop. 85’s predecessor did not pass last year. Rehashing this bill only serves to undermine a choice voters have already made.

This proposition is essentially a way for right-wing extremists to get their foot in the door so they can weasel their real issue into the public eye which is outlawing abortion. The main supporters are anti-choice advocates who are trying to criminalize abortion and revoke rights.

Catholic Cardinal Mahoney, of Los Angeles, released a statement in August to backers of the proposition saying, “It is a sensible policy to encourage a minor girl faced with a serious decision like an unexpected pregnancy to go to her parents for their love, their wisdom, and their counsel.” Cardinal Mahoney is missing the point. Prop 85 will not encourage girls to go to their parents because it will make it mandatory.

Anti-choice coalitions are missing another huge issue here. Some of these pregnancies are the result of rape by strangers or by family members. Prop 85 states that teens can bypass their parents and go to a judge to fulfill the notification requirement. If I were an abused teenager, scared, alone and experiencing the nightmare of an unexpected pregnancy, I certainly would not go to an unknown adult.

The supporters of Prop. 85 should be offering counseling and support, instead of forcing teens from troubled homes to approach their parents. This proposition will not encourage girls to communicate with their parents if they otherwise felt they could not do so. It will only make their future a little bleaker, make their decision harder, and make the procedure less safe.

If Proposition 85 passes, we will knowingly send those teenage girls either to back-alley abortionists, abusive parents, or worse. Personally, I don’t want their blood on my hands.