Mayor’s Row………….by Ned Mitchell
In 1995 the State of Illinois was completely controlled by the Republican Party. They owned the House, the Senate, and the Governor’s office and took full advantage of it. It was during this year that a much bally-hoed bill called parental notification was passed by both the House and the Senate and then signed by Governor Edgar. The bill was passed to prohibit children under age 18 from getting access to abortions without their parents or legal guardians being notified in advance. That sounds reasonable but lets’ look at it a little deeper. This bill has never been put in action and is now becoming a hot button issue in the upcoming election. Republicans are trying to rally the troops and get conservatives fired up on this law. Democrats, embarrassingly to me, are taking the opposite approach by threatening to outlaw this law now that they have control of the House, Senate, and Governor’s mansion.
First of all this bill does absolutely nothing that its’ name implies. A former legislator, a republican, who was in the House when the bill was passed outlines at least 10 ways that a minor child could get an abortion under this law without notifying the child’s parents. This same former State Representative says the law should not be called parental notification but should be called parental avoidance and then goes on to explain in great detail at least 10 ways that a child under age 18 can still get an abortion without their parents knowing about the procedure.
Here is my whole problem with the issue. Being a parent I feel like I should have the right to know about and approve any medical procedure my child might have before the procedure is done. I already am aware and have been for years that my children could not take an aspirin given by the school nurse without my knowledge and consent before the aspirin was given. I agree whole heartedly with that concept and think it is right. So one would think I should be happy with the parental notification law right? Wrong! This bill on it’s face as the name implies is a good thing for parents and children. Parents should be involved in their children’s lives until they become adults. Shucks, some parents still have to be involved in their children’s lives even after they become so called adults, but that is another column!
The only problem with this bill is that while it sounds good it does nothing like the name implies. It was merely a public relations stunt, one of those “feel good” laws that so often gets passed by our friends in Springfield. Think about it, who, other than a few tree hugging, liberal, whacko democrats could be against a bill called a parental notification law? The bill was passed and was watered down to do so. By watered down I mean the intent of the law was changed in order to get enough conservative democrats to support it to sustain a veto if need be. Instead of passing the law as originally proposed it was set up to notify parents of a child seeking an abortion but then went on to include at least 10 loop holes that would allow that same child to have an abortion without their parents or legal guardians knowledge. Of course the back door method of getting an abortion without parental notification was left out of the news release on this law.
Now the Illinois Supreme Court has decided they need to take up the cause after 11 years and write specific rules as to when parents or guardians must be notified. What a bunch of hogwash! This is nothing but election pandering by a Republican Supreme Court justice. Why bring up the subject now? Why wait for 11 years to do your job? How can this be anything else but political?
I agree with the intent of the original bill, parents or guardians have a right to know and to be involved with their children’s lives and should be included in decisions such as these. That is why we are called parents and why they are called children. We are supposed to be involved and help guide our children. The legislature should be demanding that of parents, not seeking ways to avoid it. This whole concept causes me great concern from a political point of view. I call myself a democrat and am proud to do so. I have witnessed in my 58 years that democrat ideology is more suited to me than that of the republicans. I believe in Social Security, Medicare, Black Lung, disability, welfare when needed, and other such programs that help people in need. Republicans in my opinion oppose many of those programs for their own reasons. I really believe that if it were not for the democrats, working men and women in this country would be much worse off than they are now. All of that said, it just really irks me something awful when a handful of liberal democrats who have been walking in circles all of their lives oppose something as simple and down to earth as parental notification. When you throw in these same democrats stance on abortion itself, gun control, same sex marriage, and flag burning, it is no wonder we have difficulty electing a president. Democrats in my opinion are wrong on these issues and republicans are wrong on their own set of issues. It truly makes it difficult to seek out a candidate that meets all expectations! So yes, I am still a democrat but with serious reservations about both major political parties. I am tired of being lied to and fooled by slick commercials and sound bites. As the senior citizen who was so popular in a fast food commercial I find myself asking more and more “where’s the beef?”
A good friend of mine and a long time politician in Springfield recently told me that voters this November are looking to whack somebody that is an incumbent running for re-election. We both figure it probably won’t be that famous reformer/unreformer, Governor Blagojevich, even with all of his mounting legal woes. While poll after poll reveal that voters do not trust him nor do they think he has even remotely lived up to his promise to change bsiness as usual, he is blessed by the worst republican opponent ever. Republicans had two alternatives for viable candidates, although one of their better ones served as a vote splitter to keep the other from winning, and democrats had a very honest and capable candidate in Edwin Eisendrath. But voters chose the two we have now and since Illinois leans democratic by a comfortable margin my guess is that while a lot of democrats, a third of them in the primary, are not happy with Blagojevich they have no good reason to cross party lines and vote for a republican cut out of the same cloth. My prediction is democrats will stick with their guy with the thought that if federal indictments come down in the next few years, they still have Lt. Governor Pat Quinn who will take office should that ever happen and democrats will maintain control of the Governor’s mansion. That will not set well with those making up the political combine in Illinois as Quinn has proven to be quite the reformer in the past. He more than likely would be the worst thing to happen to those who thrive on business as usual. If I were an incumbent democrat or republican State Representative or State Senator with serious opposition this fall, I would be concerned. The mood of the voter is to throw the bums out and that might just happen this time. Stay tuned!
The 100th year anniversary of the Sesser First United Methodist Church went off without a hitch Sunday as a huge crowd gathered to join in the services and hear Bishop Brown speak in Sesser. Also worth noting is that we apparently are youngsters in Sesser at the Methodist Church as our friends and neighbors to the south of us at Greenwood United Methodist Church celebrated 161 years also on Sunday. Our best wishes to them! If you need us, call 625-3611 or 625-5322 or write nedmitchell@verizon.net
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