http://www.lifenews.com/state820.html
California Attorney General Defends Parental Involvement-Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 3, 2005
Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) -- After backing down from an opinion
saying parents can't be told about their teenage children leaving
school for "confidential medical services," such as an abortion,
Attorney General Bill Lockyer is defending his initial statement.
In early December, Lockyer said a state law allowing schools to release
students for confidential medical purposes without parental consent
prevents school districts from letting parents know when such a medical
release occurs.
Later, in an interview with a radio station, Lockyer admitted the law
is "ambiguous" and said the state legislature should clarify it.
Then, in a December 30 interview with the Fox News Channel, Lockyer
defended his original position saying "it's those small number of
instances where it might be a result of rape or incest that the child
is probably not going to talk to a parent about the situation, and
needs some way to seek help."
Karen England of the Capitol Resource Institute took issue with
Lockyer's reasoning. She said the law doesn't need to be changed --
only that Lockyer is misinterpreting it.
"This is a new opinion concerning long existing statutes. And the
opinion is just plain wrong," England said.
Regarding rape and incest circumstances, England said "the law is clear
that the obligation of school personnel is to report these problems to
the authorities, not to encourage the child to leave school."
England said the most recent remarks conflict with Lockyer's radio
interview in which he indicated that school districts that notify
parents when their teenage sons or daughters leave campus for such
medical treatment should not be concerned about facing lawsuits from
the state.
"We are not encouraging districts to be renegades and ignore the law,"
England said. "We know that the legislature and the courts have never
said what Lockyer is saying."
School districts wanting to protect a parents rights have approved or
are examining policies allowing parents to know when their children
leave school.
In September, the Rocklin Unified School District became the latest to
pass a provision that limits students' ability to leave school to
obtain medical treatment without parental knowledge.
The West Covina Unified School District has maintained such a parental
involvement policy for more than ten years.
Mike Spence, president of the West Covina district, opposed Lockyer's
original opinion.
"This is simply a regurgitation of the arguments that we have shot down
time and time again," Spence said.
Scholars at the Pacific Justice Institute, who Lockyer consulted for a
second opinion, say the law is not a requirement but merely allows
schools to prevent parents from knowing. It does not prevent school
districts from issuing policies that contradict the statue
.
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