February 26, 2009, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today was joined by Representative John Coghill, Senator Donny Olson and other lawmakers who offered their support for legislation that would require parental notice and consent before a minor can have an abortion. The governor stressed the broad support for the family-oriented bill. “The most important thing at stake is the right of Alaska’s children to receive the support and input of their parents as they face a life-changing decision,” Governor Palin said. “Certainly, if we are a society that mandates parental consent before our daughters get their ears pierced, or even take a Tylenol tablet at school, I would think that there would be support both for parents to have to give consent and be informed anyway before such an invasive procedure of an abortion would be performed on our underage daughters. I found it appalling that this issue could not pass last year in the 25th Alaska Legislature. Now, Alaska families have an opportunity for parents to finally have this right to help their children in this 26th Alaska Legislature.”
The House last year approved a parental consent bill that would allow parents to intervene in their teenage daughter having an abortion. The measure would have revised the parental consent bill the legislature approved in 1997 and that the Alaska Supreme Court eventually declared unconstitutional on a 3-2 vote. The measure failed in the Senate. Governor Palin and legislative supporters are optimistic new legislation could survive a legal challenge because many states have adopted similar legislation to Alaska’s bill.
Audio from today’s press conference can be found at the following link: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/audio/ParentalCon_Feb26-2009sm.mp3
[Text only from Sarah Palin's Facebook page.] http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=54975953434
