House Panel Passes Bill Requiring Abortion Notice

A bill requiring that parents be notified before minors get an abortion is headed for the House floor over objections that it breaks a public trust by amending a 1992 citizens’ initiative.

The bill, approved Wednesday by the House Law and Justice Committee, would deny an abortion to an unmarried woman under 18 unless the physician notifies her parents 48 hours before the procedure. There would be exceptions in cases of incest or abuse.

“If we want this (bill), let’s make our case with the people. Let’s take it to the people from whence it came and let the people make the decision,” pleaded Rep. David Chappell, D-Centralia.

Chappell, a conservative, said he agreed that minors should not be able to get an abortion without first telling their parents, but felt even more strongly that initiatives should not be changed by lawmakers. Initiative 120, passed by voters in 1992, essentially upheld a women’s right to an abortion as long as the fetus could not live outside the womb.

The parental notification bill, HB1523, would be subject to court challenge if the initiative were not revised to include the measure, staffers told the panel. That’s because the initiative contains language making it the “exclusive regulator of abortion” and the measure, by itself, would be in conflict, committee staffer Bill Perry said.

Law and Justice Chairman Mike Padden, R-Spokane, showed little sympathy for the view that a law should not be changed because it came from the people. He noted that it barely passed, and added, “Historically, many initiatives have been amended by legislatures.”

In the end, the measure passed 11-6 and headed for likely passage on the House floor. Senate prospects are considered dim, and Gov. Mike Lowry has indicated he would veto any bill he considers a change from Initiative 120.

The bill passed after Rep. Marlin Appelwick, D-Seattle, and others said parental notification would further harm girls who dare not tell their parents they are pregnant and want an abortion. In earlier testimony, foes of the measure contended it would drive girls to illegal abortions or suicide.

But Padden and others argued that at the very least, parents have the right to know if their minor daughters are getting an abortion.

“Some minors need the parents because they’re under peer pressure to get abortions, maybe from boyfriends who don’t want the responsibility,” Padden said.