Please read the following letter, written by a local woman, and then take a look at my comments on Proposition 85, the Parental Notification Initiative here in California.

Hello, I am a Sacramento area parishioner, both myself and my children attended local Catholic schools. I would like to share my story to help encourage more people to speak out about abortion, especially in the church, our schools, community, and our family.

At 14 years old, in the 8th grade I met and started dating a 19 year old guy who was already out of school. I lost my virginity to him and by summer I had become pregnant. My boyfriend pressured me hard into getting an abortion without telling my parents for fear he would get in trouble or go to jail etc. When the day came he dropped me off in front of the Planned Parenthood in downtown Sacramento and went on his way to a concert with a friend. I aborted our baby alone and afraid. He left me there not knowing how I was going to get home. I left the clinic bleeding and crying my eyes out. I walked alone downtown about 12 blocks to the old Greyhound depot to catch the bus that took me back to our side of town. I had never been downtown on foot and alone and I remember how scared I was of everyone. I could not go home though because I was crying too hard and bleeding too much that my parents would have known something was terribly wrong. I rode the bus and walked around all day, alone and afraid until I could compose myself enough to go home. Once the abortion was done my boyfriend broke off what was left of our relationship. I was left alone to suffer depression, had thoughts of suicide, experienced eating disorders, had parenting insecurity, no self confidence, no self forgiveness and all the negative effects nobody warned me about or offered counsel for throughout most of my life.

When I was about 32 years old, I started listening to Catholic Radio and for the first time heard advertisement for post-abortive counseling and healing. I finally got help 18 years later.

I am telling you this because I think it would be better if the truth about abortion was talked about more openly. The evils of abortion should be learned about to counteract the lies told to young girls about how abortion is just a simple procedure to eliminate the ‘cluster of cells’, make all your troubles go away, and your life go back to normal in no time. To this day, I never hear the real truth about abortion being discussed in church or Catholic school. The scared fathers or molesters only want the ‘problem’ to go away. Planned Parenthood is not warning these girls, in fact they shelter them from the truth, even lie about it, and leave them to suffer the consequences alone. Nobody ever told me how bad it would be to live with the truth of what you have done. It was never talked about by anyone but the people who wanted me to abort the most.

I think that young girls would be more likely to seek help through their parish if they at least saw and heard the truth from there. If the church speaks about abortion it might cross a girl’s mind that she may be able to turn and find help there. It never crossed my mind. I think it could prevent some girls from having abortions and open the door for post abortive women to get help or reconciliation. After all, if I had not started listening to Catholic radio, I would have never known or even thought of turning to the church even though I had confessed it several times. When done in a compassionate way, openly talking about abortion helps women who have had one to know that they are not alone or crazy for the suffering they feel.

Had there been a law about parental notification I may not have gone through with it. Even if I had, someone would have known to get me help and counseling. When I helped collect signatures for Prop 85 at the church I was shocked at how many people not only refused to sign, but were hostile and rude about it. I wanted to share my story with them and say; ‘Look, I went through this at 14 years old and my parents had no idea what was wrong with me or how to help. All they knew and chalked it up to was that my boyfriend broke up with me. I remember hearing them say, “She’ll get over it, she’s just heartbroken.” I didn’t. And there are worse stories then mine. Is that what we want for our daughters? ’

In the end, my baby was killed at my request. I knew that from the moment it happened. No one ever had to say that to me, or even knew what I had done. The guilt I felt was so strong nobody could have made me feel worse then my own thoughts did. The truth could have lead me to help sooner. Sometimes I feel that abortion does not get talked about for fear of offending or making people feel bad. I am just wanting to express that people who have had abortions already feel bad and do not know where to turn for healing and understanding if it is not talked about openly and honestly in parishes. Please do what you can to help bring the whole truth about abortion to your family, community, church, and everyone you know. The truth could really help someone like me.

Thank you for your help and support.

Sacramento-area post-abortive woman

As a 14-year-old girl, this woman had parents who cared for her. Under Proposition 85, the abortion facility would have been required to notify her parents before the abortion. As she admits, she may have still gotten an abortion even if her parents had known. However, her parents would have been able to give her the support she desperately needed. Without Prop 85, we are crippling the guidance and help that parents can give their daughters.

Opponents of Prop 85 are not above hiding the truth in order to win. On the No on 85 website’s “The Facts” page, it states, “Prop 85 forces even teens from violent or abusive homes to involve their parents.” This is simply a lie. Proposition 85 allows a young woman to obtain a judicial bypass if she does not want to involve her parents. Furthermore, Prop 85 would stop these abusive parents by shedding light on the situation. This shows that opponents don’t care about what is best for the teen involved, but only about the abortion itself.
It is entirely illogical to make the argument that parents should not be told because some may get abusive. For instance, some parents may become abusive if their child gets bad grades. Does this mean that parents should not be told about their student’s progress in school? No, of course not. Parents should be told so that they can help their child, and any parents who are abusive should be stopped. The same is true in the case of abortions concerning minors.

Opponents of Prop 85 also state, “While the proposed law would include a bypass provision for teens to seek help from a judge, a girl afraid to tell her parents isn’t going to march up to a judge in a strange courthouse to talk about her pregnancy.” If you know Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics, then you know they will do just about anything to keep their customers. Undoubtedly, Planned Parenthood employees will “help” the young women obtain the judicial bypass, just as they already do.

Please read the above letter and the text of Prop 85 for yourself, and do what is best for my classmates. Vote Yes on Proposition 85.

*Update- The Sacramento Bee calls the No on Prop 85 ad “incorrect”.