Alaska Restricts Abortion Rights With Parental Notification Law

Congratulations Alaska: You’re now the 35th state to further limit the reproductive rights of young women by forcing doctors to violate a teen’s right to privacy.

On Tuesday, Alaska voters passed Ballot Measure 2, which requires medical personnel to personally notify the parents/guardians of girls under age 18 who are seeking abortions, subsequently forcing patients to wait 48 hours before they can receive the procedure. The law allows teens from abusive homes to circumvent this state-mandated tattling by appearing before a judge and receiving a court order, or obtaining a notarized statement from a law enforcement officer or qualified family member testifying to personal knowledge of abuse.

While it may seem reasonable on the surface, this measure is dangerous for a number of reasons. Instead of protecting vulnerable, victimized teenagers, it forces them to single-handedly navigate a complex and often unsympathetic legal system, and/or risks subjecting them to further violence from parents angry about their teen’s pregnancy. Furthermore, the mandated 48 hour waiting period adds an additional set of logistical obstacles: not every teenage girl has a Planned Parenthood around the corner, nor do they all have the time, money, resources, or ability to coordinate long distance travel and overnight accommodations. And when it comes to abortion, timing is crucial, and earlier is definitely better in terms of ease, safety, and cost. All of these barriers increase the likelihood that medical services will be dangerously delayed, or that desperate teens might seek an unsafe back-alley or self-induced abortion.

We obviously hope that all minors would choose to involve their parent(s) in their reproductive health care, and the reality is the majority do. But should the government be mandating family interactions? Hell to the No. I understand that teenagers aren’t known for making the best decisions, but if a 15-year-old girl goes out of her way to arrange, pay for, and endure an abortion without the help and support of her family, I trust that she has a damn good reason for it … and trusting women is really what’s at the heart of the issue here.

Parental notification laws are one of many that legislate the pervasive paternalistic belief that women just don’t know what the hell they’re doing. Ballot Measure 2 doesn’t even trust victims of abuse when they say they’re in danger – you have to prove it to a judge. And this isn’t Alaska’s only “You Don't Know What You're Doing, Young Lady” law: as of 2004, women seeking an abortion are subjected to state mandated “counseling” designed to discourage them from terminating their pregnancy.

The idea that women of all ages need an authority figure to micromanage our reproduction is patently offensive, and it severely limits our ability to access health care in an efficient, effective, and dignified way.  Those anti-choicers are a funny bunch: for people who are so vehemently opposed to government involvement in their own medical care, they’re sure eager to wedge it right in the middle of ours.

Photo Credit: USDOI