Signature collecting begins for parental consent initiative
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KTVA: A very controversial debate is making its way back into the public spotlight. Thursday evening, a group hoping to get an initiative added to the ballot requiring underage girls to get parent permission before receiving an abortion started officially gathering signatures. More than 100 people gathered at ChangePoint Church in South Anchorage to be the first to sign the petition to get the issue in next fall's election. "This whole issue is about protecting teenagers health and protecting parental rights," said Kelly Foreman with the group Alaskans For Parental Rights. "Right now in the state of Alaska a minor can go get an abortion without their parents notification and consent." The people who showed up, Thursday, hope to change that. "We need 32,734 signatures across the state," Foreman said. "Right now we're hoping for a full house and that's 1,500 people here at ChangePoint."
They probably missed that mark. Only a few hundred stayed to hear pro-life speakers, but those who were there had plenty of opinions. "For a girl to get her ears pierced she needs a parental signature so it's ridiculous that a girl can go without her parents knowledge or consent to go get an abortion," said Charissa Phillips, a mother of four. "It's obviously not a democrat versus republican issue," said Nome Sen. Donny Olson, a democrat. Olson sponsored a parental consent bill in the Senate, but it stalled there last session. "It's not an urban versus rural issue it's one that's across the state." Opponents of the initiative say it's not well thought out. "We find that it's very unworkable," said Clover Simon with the Alaska branch of Planned Parenthood. "It's unclear. We're pretty unsure how it's going to be operationalized in real practice." Simon said most girls coming into their clinics have a parent or someone with them for guidance. "We spend extra time with young women if they come in without a parent and make sure they have some kind of support system." The signature gathering is just starting, but the end of this debate is nowhere in sight.
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