Help Protect Our Daughters- Support "Sarah's Law"

"Sarah" was 15 years old, pregnant and scared. Without her parents' knowledge, she underwent an abortion and the butcher abortionist Dr. Moshe Hachamovitch tore her cervix. Four days later she was admitted to the hospital with fever, chills, nausea, pain, and foul-smelling discharge. Sarah's body was wracked with abscesses, spreading infection that had entered her body through the damage the abortion had done to her uterus. Her brain was swollen. Her fetid fluids made their way up through her damaged bowels and into her lungs. The infection eventually claimed her young life.

When the authorities performed an inspection of the abortion mill clinic after Sarah's death, they found the staff was inadequately trained in how to properly sterilize instruments. The administrator, was evidently aware of the fact that the autoclave used to sterilize instruments was not functioning properly. As for the instruments themselves, "two loop forceps, two tenaculums and one curette were found to have small particles of dried brownish-dark red material on them. Three speculums were found to have small particles of dried clear material on them." "The only sterilized abortion tray in the procedure room was found to contain a curette with a loop whose edge was visibly jagged instead of smooth."

Five other women also died as a result of abortions performed by Dr. Hachamovitch or his henchmen employees. As of 1999, he had been named in at least 28 medical malpractice lawsuits alleging negligence and other problems. Two of his minions employees were convicted of manslaughter after 26 year old Lisa Bardsley was left to slowly bleed to death in one of his slaughterhouses clinics.

How can we protect our daughters?

"Sarah's Law" would help protect young girls from butchers like Dr. Hachamovitch and also from sexual predators. If approved by California voters, Sarah's Law would require abortion providers to notify one parent in writing 48 hours before performing an abortion on a girl under 18. In cases of an abusive parent, an adult family member such as an aunt or uncle, grandparent or adult sibling over 21 may be notified. A girl would also have the option of seeking confidential approval for the abortion from the juvenile court.

Under current law, a minor needs parental consent to take an aspirin from a school nurse or attend a class field trip yet a child as young as 12 can be taken for a secret abortion that often has long-term physical and mental consequences. As we've seen from Sarah's tragedy, it can even be fatal.

A study of over 46,000 pregnancies of school-age girls in California found that over two thirds were impregnated by adult men who were an average of seven years older. Abortion mills clinics routinely ignore laws mandating they report cases of sexual abuse and statutory rape. 89% of minors undergoing abortions who reported that neither parent knew about it said that their sexual partner had arranged for the abortion. The number was 93% for those aged 15 or younger.

Family Notification will help parents and law enforcement in their struggle to protect our state’s minor daughters from sexual predators. It has also been shown to reduce the risk of teen girls contracting an STD (a proxy for risky sexual behavior) by an average of 20% for Latinas and 12% for Caucasian girls.

What you can do to help

From now until the end of March, supporters are gathering signatures of registered California voters to place Sarah's Law on the November 2008 ballot. You can request a petition by calling (866) 828-8355 or emailing petitions@FriendsofSarah.com. If you are technically savvy enough, you can even download one to print here.