Proposition 85			00.00 10/05
	Summary
	Submitted as: "Parents' Right to Know and Child Protection Initiative."
	Type:  Amendment to the State Constitution
	Subject:  Requires parental permission for minors to have an abortion
	Submitter:  Paul E. Laubacher
	Supporting Organization:
		Name:	Yes on 85 1703 India Street San Diego CA 92101
		Email: see site
		Web Site: www.yeson85.net
		Phone: 866.828.8355
	Opposing Organization:
		Name:	A Project of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California 555 Capitol Mall, Suite 510 Sacramento CA 95814
		Email: info at noon85.com
		Web Site: www.noon85.com
		Phone: 916.669.4802
	Prop 85 limits, but does not remove, the access a woman under 18 has to an abortion.  It does this by establishing a system under which the woman requires permission, either of a parent or of the legal system, before an abortion can be performed.
	Specifically, an abortion may not be performed unless one of the following applies:
		Written notice given in person has been provided to a parent or guardian AND a period of at least 48 hours has elapsed after the notice was provided, or
		the doctor has good reason to believe that written notice has been given to a parent or guardian, AND a reflection period of at least 48 hours has elapsed after the notice was provided, or
		the doctor has received a written waiver allowing the abortion, or
		in a case where parental notice for some reason cannot be given, and no parental waiver can be obtained, the doctor has received a waiver of notification from a court.
	If the doctor chooses to give notice, the notice must be delivered, in written form, either to the parent personally by the doctor or doctor's agent, or to the parent by mail.  If by mail, the notice must be delivered by certified mail addressed to the parent at the parent's last known address, with return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee.  A copy must also be sent by first class mail to the parent.  The written form for the notice must follow a design to be established by the Department of Health Services.  The doctor must inform the minor that notice is being sent to her parent, and must keep a copy of the notice or waiver in the minor's medical records.
	If the notice was delivered by mail, the doctor may presume that proper notice has been given, with or without response from the parent, by noon of the second day after the notice sent by certified mail was postmarked, counting only those days on which mail delivery takes place.
	No notice need be sent if the doctor certifies that the abortion was necessary due to a medical emergency, defined as "a condition which, on the basis of the physician's good-faith clinical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant unemancipated minor as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for which a delay will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function."
	The parent may waive notice, thereby agreeing to the abortion.  The waiver must be in writing, on a form designed by the Department of Health Services, and must be signed, dated and, unless delivered in person by the parent to the doctor, notarized.  The doctor must keep the original of the waiver with the minor's medical records.
	The minor may avoid the sending of notice by filing a petition with the juvenile court, and obtaining a waiver in one of the ways described below.  The minor must be assisted in the preparation of the necessary filing documents, and no filing fee may be charged.  The minor must appear personally in court, on her own behalf or with counsel of her own choosing, or with court appointed council.  The minor's identity will be kept confidential, and court proceedings will be sealed.  Hearing of the petition must occur by 5 p.m. on the second day after filing, unless extended by the written request of the minor or her own counsel.  A conclusion must be reached within one court day.
	The judge is to authorize a waiver of notice if it is found that the minor is sufficiently mature and informed enough to decide to have an abortion, or the judge finds that notice to the parent is not in the minor's best interests.  (If the latter finding is based upon evidence of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, this evidence must be brought to the attention of the county child protective agency.)  If the judge finds neither to be true, then the petition must be denied.  If the judge fails to rule within the required time period, the petition is automatically considered granted.
	The minor has the right to appeal the judge's decision, following a process that will need to be created by the Judicial Council.  The appeal hearing must be held within three days of the filing of the appeal, and judgment must be given within one day.  No filing fee will be assessed, the minor's identity will be kept confidential, and court proceedings will be sealed.
	Other responsibilities are created by the measure:
	A doctors who performs an abortion on a minor must file a report concerning it to the Department of Health Services within one month using the form described below.  The doctor's identity must not be disclosed by the Department of Health Services.
	The Judicial Council will need to define the procedure for petitions for waiver of parental notification, hearings, and entry of judgment and may need to design forms for such proceedings.  The Judicial Council has a 90 day grace period following passage of the measure to establish the procedure and design the forms.
	Each court must provide an annual report to the Judicial Council, covering this process.  The report must include the number of petitions filed, the number of petitions granted in the three different ways, the number denied, and the number granted and denied upon appeal.  These reports are to be publicly available.
	The Department of Health Services must provide forms for the reporting of abortions performed on minors.  The form must include the date of the abortion, the minor's birthdate, the duration of the pregnancy, the type of abortion procedure, how many previous abortions and deliveries the minor has had, and the place where the abortion was performed.  The form must also show that a waiver was received from the parent, or how notice was provided to the parent, or that the abortion was performed because of a medical emergency or after receiving a judicial waiver of notice.  The Department of Health Services has a 90 day grace period following passage of the measure to design the forms.
	The Department of Health Services must also provide an annual report based on the information submitted.  The report must include information on the numbers of abortions by month and county, the minors' ages, the duration of the pregnancies, the types of abortion procedures, and the numbers of prior abortions or deliveries.  The report must also include the number of abortions performed after personal delivery of a notice; after presumed delivery of a notice by mail; after a waiver of notice; without notice because of a medical emergency; and after judicial waivers.  The annual statistical report must be available to county public health officials, members of the Legislature, the Governor, and the public.
	A doctor who performs an abortion on a minor without following this process is liable for damages in a civil action that may be brought by the minor, her legal representative, or by a parent or guardian wrongfully denied notification.  A doctor may not perform an abortion on a minor without her consent.
	A minor who is being coerced  to undergo an abortion may apply to the juvenile court for relief.  The court must give the matter expedited consideration and grant such relief as may be necessary to prevent the coercion.
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