California Catholic Conference Issues Statement on Proposition 73

Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, released the following statement thanking supporters and discussing the outcome of Proposition 73. Proposition 73 received more than 3 million votes, making it the top vote-getter among all eight initiatives on the ballot.

We are deeply disappointed that the voters of California chose not to pass Proposition 73, the Parents' Right to Know and Child Protection Act, which was on the November 8, 2005 special election ballot.

Proposition 73 was a common sense initiative that affirmed parental involvement in the medical and moral decisions of their minor daughters. Polls had consistently shown that both pro-life and pro-abortion rights voters approved this restriction, which would have placed abortion law in concert with other laws that grant parents oversight of and responsibility for minors.

• Reflecting on the loss, we can make several observations.
  Proposition 73 garnered the most "yes" votes of all eight of the failed propositions.
• The "no side" outspent the "yes side" by a considerable margin.
• Although Proposition 73 did not pass, the campaign provided a valuable opportunity to educate the public, many of whom were unaware that children in public school grades 7-12 could be excused for confidential medical services-including abortion-without their parents' knowledge.
• The campaign for Proposition 73 also offered us an opportunity to develop collaborative bonds with many other pro-life and pro-family groups in California.

We would like to personally thank all of our clergy, diocesan and parish staff, and the many volunteers who spent countless hours in this effort. The close vote count can be attributed almost entirely to the incredible grassroots effort throughout the state to which Catholics made an outstanding contribution.