Proposition 73 leaves me nearly speechless. It raises the specter of the '50s when the term "back-alley abortion" and the gruesome icon of the coathanger made their way into my consciousness as a teenager.

In my first job in a hospital, I became aware of deaths from bleeding and infections from illegal abortions, which were more frequent than anyone wanted to admit.

In The Star's Oct 29 article, "Abortion is at heart of Prop. 73 debate," Yolanda Robles, a Planned Parenthood counselor, makes the point that it is rare for a pregnant minor to be without her mother. Proposition 73 cannot legislate the ideal for those rare exceptions, yet it raises barriers and places hurdles in the path of a youngster in crisis that may push her into seeking an illegal abortion. That is, it cannot help a pregnant minor, but it can put her in harm's way.

In fact, Proposition 73 is not intended to help or protect the vulnerable pregnant minor in this situation. Its intent is to control youthful sexual activity through fear and intimidation. The hope is this will result in fewer pregnancies and, subsequently, fewer teen abortions, according to Katie Short, Proposition 73 co-author, and Stan Devereux, spokesman for the Yes on 73 campaign.

The idea seems to be this: The more difficult it is for a pregnant minor to obtain a legal abortion, the less likely she is to become pregnant. My take on it is, the more difficult it is for a pregnant minor to obtain a legal abortion, the more likely she is to seek an illegal abortion, human nature being what it is.

I do not believe young women have sex to get pregnant. The fact that pregnancy occurs reflects an ignorance of human sexuality and lack of adequate birth control, and that teenage frame of mind that "it won't happen to me." For rape and incest, the barrier of requiring judicial waiver makes a traumatic situation more difficult for a young woman in crisis.

Proposition 73 creates a bureaucracy geared toward taking names and keeping score for doctors and judges that treats the pregnant minor as a pawn to be manipulated by humiliation and fear. Statistics collected about judges serve no purpose other than to be used against them at some later time.

Proposition 73 does not address rape or incest, or ask for the diagnosis that defines danger to the life of the pregnant minor, and that information is not included in the request for statistical information. The reasons most commonly considered justification for an abortion are ignored.

A pregnant minor may (rarely) choose not to tell her parent(s) because she knows she will experience abuse, abandonment or worse. After she has raised her courage and taken the first step of seeing a physician, she will be stopped cold and advised: "It's either tell your parents or see a judge for a waiver or no abortion."

She will be required to schedule a hearing with a judge to obtain a waiver, arrange transportation to a courthouse, appear before the judge and verbalize, perhaps for the first time in her life, the dysfunctions of her family that make it unsafe for her to tell them she is pregnant and wants an abortion.

And if she convinces the judge there has been abuse in her home, he is obligated to report that situation to the county child protective agency. There is no provision in Proposition 73 to assure her safety if any actions are taken.

Proposition 73 does not help the pregnant minor, it hinders her, and instead of supporting education and emotional growth of pregnant minors, espouses manipulation and intimidation. It makes illegal abortion look good.

It is noteworthy that an Oct. 29 Associated Press article, "Births to unmarried mothers set record in U.S.," reported: "The birthrate for women ages 15 to 19 was 41.2 per 1,000 down from 41.6 in 2003 and a record low," and "last year teens accounted for just 24 percent of unwed births, down from 50 percent in 1970."

Of 1,470,152 babies born to single women in 2004, 352,836 were to teenagers. That does not count miscarriages, spontaneous abortions and legal abortions or babies born to married teenagers.

We have our head in the sand if we do not recognize that teenagers are sexually active. How can we expect our children to trust us when we don't trust them with the facts of life or give them the resources to avoid pregnancy?

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