1997-05-01                     Senate Journal                      Page 1596
SB 24                                                                        
Governors letter dated and received April 30, 1997                             
Dear President Miller:                                                         
                                                                               
Under the authority of art. II, sec. 15, of the Alaska Constitution, I         
have vetoed the following bill:                                                
                                                                               
                             HCS CSSB 24(FIN) am H                             
         An Act relating to a requirement that a parent, guardian, or          
custodian consent before certain minors receive an abortion.                   
                                                                               
This bill imposes a new restriction on minors who may need an                  
abortion - the consent of a parent, guardian or court.  This is a new          
restriction on the constitutional protections afforded all Alaskans,           
regardless of their age.  This bill is arbitrary, constitutionally vague       
and unnecessary.  For those reasons alone, it should be vetoed.                
                                                                               
Right now in Alaska, Im advised that 80 percent of the teens who               
find themselves in this predicament already consult with their parents         
and families.  The remaining 20 percent seek and receive the counsel           
of health care professionals - counselors, public health nurses,               
doctors.  Instead of focusing on a parental consent process that               
already takes place, Alaskan parents, health care providers and our            
communities need to do a better job of preventing teen pregnancy               
and reaching out to troubled teens.                                            
                                                                               
In addition to the constitutional problems with this bill, there are           
more personal reasons why I am vetoing it.  Theres little                      
disagreement among Alaskans we should encourage our teenagers to               
look to their parents when confronted with difficult circumstances.            
I certainly try to do that with my own children.  And it would break           
my heart if my teenage daughter found herself in similar                       
circumstances and felt she could not come to me or her mother for              
our counsel.  But I would far rather she go to a family friend or              
relation than be forced to go to a court and deal with strangers. This         
bill does not allow that to happen.                                            
                                                                               
                                                                               

1997-05-01                     Senate Journal                      Page 1597
SB 24                                                                        
We must also recognize not all teenagers in Alaska have that option.           
Some teens who may be affected by this bill will be incest or rape             
victims.  Its a sad fact that a 1990 state Department of Education             
survey found one in four young women reported being sexually                   
abused or sexually assaulted by the time she turns 18 years old.               
                                                                               
Furthermore, the bill does not achieve other things its advocates hope         
to accomplish.  They argue the bill would foster better                        
communication between teens and their parents.  The legislature                
cannot accomplish this goal by forcing a family which has not been             
communicating to suddenly change.  Advocates also say the bill will            
help protect the health of young women, but the potential delay the            
judicial bypass procedure would impose on a teen who may have                  
postponed her decision to turn to the court in the first place could           
create an additional health hazard.                                            
                                                                               
In some cases, teens subject to this bills provisions live in remote           
communities where access to and understanding of the court system              
is meager at best.  This bill imposes an unfair burden on these                
young women and could result in them choosing rash or life-                    
threatening alternatives - running away, attempting a self-induced             
abortion, seeking back-alley abortions, or even worse - suicide.               
Government interference in this personal and troubling decision is             
unwarranted.                                                                   
                                                                               
For these reasons, I have vetoed HCS CSSB 24(FIN) am H.                        
                                                                               
					Sincerely,                                                                
					/s/                                                                       
					Tony Knowles	                                                             
					Governor