Gov. Sarah Palin is ignoring Alaskan state law and is backing a ballot measure to bypass the Legislature and make it illegal for teenagers to get an abortion without telling their parents.
Getting up on her wise parental horse to pontificate about the morals of others, Palin said she will be the first to push for the bill to “protect Alaska’s daughters” and make sure they can not just run out and get an abortion after boinking in the family room with their boinkee of the moment.
Being sure to make the issue about her, Palin said she expects to have someone file an ethics charge since she is ignoring state law.
“I acknowledge the ‘new normal’ we’re dealing with today will no doubt see someone filing a charge against me anyway, for exercising my First Amendment rights as a citizen, but I will not hesitate to speak up in support of Alaska’s daughters,” she wrote in a Sunday e-mail.
Alaskan state law says that a governor cannot spend money or “provide anything of value” to influence the outcome of a ballot measure unless the Legislature has appropriated money for that purpose. Alaska election regulators are investigating whether Palin violated the law last summer when she said in response to a question at a state press conference that she would vote no on a controversial ballot measure to tighten limits on water pollution discharges from mines.
The initiative would require parental “notice or consent” before a woman under 18 could have an abortion, unless the teen convinced a court otherwise or there was a medical emergency. There would have to be a 48-hour waiting period after the parent is notified — but that could be waived if the parent gave consent for the abortion.
Jim Minnery, president of the Alaska Family Council, said the ultimate goal is a state law requiring a parent to give permission before a teenage girl can have an abortion. But the Alaska Supreme Court two years ago ruled a parental consent bill unconstitutional on a 3-2 vote, saying it would rob a pregnant teen of her constitutional right to make such an important decision herself and transfers that right to her parents or a judge.
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