California AG backs off on opinion

Amid a grass-roots campaign organized by a traditional-family lobby group, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer backed off yesterday on his opinion that public schools cannot inform parents if their children leave campus to receive certain confidential medical services that include abortion, AIDS treatment and psychological analysis.

"The law is ambiguous," said Lockyer in an interview on KSTE radio's "Paul and Phil Unplugged" in Sacramento. "There is a need for the legislature to clarify it."

The attorney general said that although he believes children as young as age 12 have a right to leave campus for "confidential medical services" without parents being notified, school districts who do choose to notify parents would not face a lawsuit.

"It is clear that Lockyer has no confidence in his own opinion," said Karen England of the Sacramento-based Capitol Resource Institute.

England charged that as a politician and a lawyer, Lockyer "will read into the law what is necessary to pursue his political goals."

"His political ideology dictates that minors should be emancipated to make their own personal medical decisions," she said. "It's not surprising that, using circular legal arguments, he came to the conclusion that he did."

As WorldNetDaily reported, the opinion was prompted by resistance from teachers unions and groups such as Planned Parenthood to the Capitol Resource Institute's effort to help schools enact a "parent-friendly" policy requiring parental notification and consent in the wake of "medical emancipation" statutes that allow students to confidentially seek medical help off campus.

Previously it was understood that schools were allowed to enact confidentiality policies, but Lockyer's opinion said the policies are required.

In school districts across the state, contends England, confidentiality rules practically forced staff even to brush off direct inquiries from parents who call to find out the whereabouts of a child.

"I couldn't even find out if my child left or that would be breaking confidentiality," England told WorldNetDaily. "The answer I might get is, 'I don't know where Susie is.' Because if you have agreed there is confidentiality, you must honor that."

Schools barred from telling parents of abortion