With the California Special election tomorrow I am frantically trying to read the props or initiatives and decide how I am going to vote. I have always been one to read the actual initiative as well as the Pro and Con arguments before making my decision. I will never vote No or Yes just because political leader who I like or dislike shows his/her support (just because I am a democrat does not mean I will vote against Arnold on everything….in fact I voted for Arnold in the recall election). While I consider myself a fairly informed voter with strong personal views I often get very wishy washy with these kind of initiatives. I can usually see both sides of the argument and have a hard time deciding which will really be better. Sometimes I envy those who have an opinion and will argue until they are blue in the face that it is the right thing to do (I can do this with some ideological values I have), but for me I am just not that sure about these.
I am going to tread on thin water and give an example that may be controversial. Prop 73. Waiting period and parental notification before termination of a Minor’s pregnancy. Now I am 100% supporter of a woman’s right to choose and will always fight for this right. However I’m not so sure how certain I am of a “girls” right to choose. I am not a parent, but I do think if I had a minor child that wanted an abortion I should be notified. On the other hand I would hate have any barrier that would lead kids to Mexico and back alleys for illegal abortions. Then I struggle with the fact that a teen and her parents could have different views. What happens if the teen wants the right to choose but the parents are against it. Can they force their daughter to carry a child to term? On the other hand can a 14 year old girl really be mature enough to make such an important decision that will impact her for the rest of her life. I can honestly argue with myself over this one for a long time. In the end I will probably vote No on this one just because I don’t want to do anything to limit the right to choose….but I’m not 100% certain this initiative is a bad thing.
This initiative is not an exception. I can argue with myself on almost all of them….and it is like this with every election for me. This really makes me question if I have weak political views.
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I'm so with you on this. We'll see tomorrow...
I agree with the minors consent. I think, in a perfect world, when all parents had their kids best interests in mind, maybe this would be an ok law to have, b/c I do think young kids might have difficulties in making the decision. BUT I do not believe that all parents truly have that. Some will force their own political and/or religious beliefs on a child, telling themselves that it is for the kids' own good, when it really is for their own self interest. At the end of the day, I'll probably vote in favor of the right to choose, for the same reason you said, to protect against any inroads against that. But also, because I also strongly believe if you think a child is not ready to make that decision, how much MORE ready will that same child be to be a mother? So quickly society is to love babies, only to dismiss the same mothers who end up on social services, and/or the kids end up in crime, etc., all because no one wants to deal with the issue once the baby is born. SIGH. such a hard issue.
-w
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