Californians to Vote on Parental Notification for Abortions

LOS ANGELES – California's Proposition 73 requires that clinics give parents 48 hours notice before performing an abortion (search) on girls under the age of 18. It exempts girls who get a waiver from a judge or in the case of a medical emergency.

Supporters of the proposition, like Maria Kennedy, believe that by getting parents involved, abortions would be fewer and safer. But they don't think the issue is necessarily about abortion.

"Parents are not the enemy," Kennedy said. "It really is about parental rights. It would be a far stretch to go from parental notification to ruling against the constitutional right on abortion."

Click in the video box to the right for a complete report by FOX News' Trace Gallagher.

Some abortion rights supporters also have a favorable view of this proposition.

Click here to read the proposition.

But opponents of the measure say it's a step toward abolishing the landmark Supreme Court Roe V. Wade (search) ruling, which essentially legalized abortion. They argue the law would put girls at risk in that they wouldn't confide in their parents, which could lead them to seek out shoddy medical facilities and dangerous abortions. They say the so-called "bypass option" of going to a judge is ludicrous.

"I can't imagine how a 15-year-old — a scared, pregnant 15-year-old — could actually figure out not only where to go … where juvenile court is but then how do they get a lawyer ... and maneuver the system," said proposition opponent Dawn Wilcox.

While California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (search) popularity continues to wane, Proposition 73 is the only one of five measures on Tuesday's ballot that he supports. The initiative, which is opposed by groups like Planned Parenthood and the California Medical Association, is also widely expected to galvanize voters and increase what was forecast to be low voter turnout.

Voters will get a chance to vote on the proposition on Tuesday; they are currently fairly split on it. If the measure passes, California would be the 35th state with some type of parental notification law.