Anchorage, Alaska, Dec 17, 2009 / 22:35 pm
An Alaskan petition initiative to place a measure requiring parental notification for an underage girl seeking an abortion has collected 31,000 signatures. Organizers credited the efforts of Catholics like Archbishop of Anchorage Roger Schwietz, who asked Catholics to sign the petition and encouraged parishes to support the proposal.
The parental notification initiative must secure 32,734 signatures to place an initiative on the ballot. Organizers are seeking another 11,000 signatures to make up for any invalid signatures.
In a Sept. 3 letter Archbishop Schwietz voiced support for the initiative. He said the petition effort sends a “strong message that Alaskan parents should be involved in the healthcare decisions of their children.”
As of November 2007, he reported, only 14 states did not have a parental notification law.