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'Mr. DuVal has firmly established that he fails to appreciate our fundamental parental right to protect our children during difficult life events.'Gage Skidmore / Wikipedia

Our children are precious.  This is a simple truth that anyone of science, faith or political persuasion – or has even simply cared for a child in any capacity – can agree with.  From the minute they are conceived, to their first words and steps, to their first day of school, and all the way up to the day they leave home and beyond, we as parents and guardians treasure each moment as we watch them grow.  We keep watch over them, protect them and pray that they will be shielded from as many bumps as possible as they embark upon life’s journey.

Sometimes, however, a child’s path takes unexpected and unfortunate twists and turns.  When these events occur, it is most important that the family be empowered as a child’s first responder.  With compassion, the power of love, and above all, God’s grace, the family can come together and work through such challenges to provide the greatest benefit to the child.  This is our solemn duty.  We have an obligation to ourselves, to each other and to our children’s future to carry out this duty. 

Unfortunately, such a simple underpinning of our social contract with one another and God’s charge to us is lost on Fred DuVal, who wishes to lead our community as Arizona’s governor. If Mr. Duval’s recent comments – made in a church, of all places – are any indication, he would allow our children to face a horrifying decision all by themselves, adrift and without the benefit of family support. 

Specifically, during a forum at Redemption Church in Gilbert, the questions turned to the issue of granting parental consent for minors to obtain abortions.  Mr. DuVal initially described his position according to fairly standard pro-abortion talking points: rejecting consent and referencing the “choice of reproductive freedom” of the “expectant mother” – with no mention of the rights of the unborn. 

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Then, however, Mr. DuVal declared the truly astounding.  When the host of the forum clarified that the “expectant mother” in his hypothetical was only 14 years old, Mr. DuVal casually said “Yeah,” and affirmed that his previous statement also applied to a child.  This is despite the fact that, under the same hypothetical, the same child could not even take Tylenol from her school’s nurse without parental consent.  Certainly, one could argue that the minor in this hypothetical may not recognize the necessity or benefit of her family’s counsel in such a circumstance; however, deciding whether to have an abortion – especially as a minor – will become a defining moment of her life. She deserves every resource available to her, starting with her family’s guidance. 

With such an inconceivable affirmation, Mr. DuVal has firmly established that he fails to appreciate our fundamental parental right to protect our children during difficult life events.  His views are too extreme for our families and the greater Arizona community.  There will always be differences of opinion on the rights of the unborn – this is lamentable to people of faith, but is nevertheless a sad fact of modern American political discourse and life.

There is, however, widespread agreement that minor children – like the hypothetical 14-year-old girl in the example – should not be able to abort another child without parental consent.  A Gallup poll from 2011 found that 71 percent of Americans agreed with parental consent for abortions for girls under 18 years of age.  Another poll in 2006 found that there was wide bi-partisan support for this fundamental principle. 

As every adult that passes through the teen years can attest, the teenage transitional period is an exceedingly emotional and vulnerable time.  This is a major period of human development that is only matched when the child is initially born.  An unexpected jolt of an unplanned pregnancy places too heavy a burden on a child’s state of mind and well-being.  She cannot, and should never be allowed or encouraged – either by peer pressure or even the law – to make such a far-reaching and life-altering decision without the supportive bond of her family.  Trying times like these are when God most brilliantly shows His love and that love is often manifested through a parent’s embrace and guidance.  Mr. DuVal would cast these truths aside, in the name of “defending” a 14-year-old expectant mother’s “freedom” to be thrown into a situation she cannot, in her limited experience on this Earth, begin to fathom… all by herself.

Doug Ducey, also running for Arizona governor, is resolutely a man of faith.  He believes in protecting the rights of the unborn as well as a parents’ right to have a say in what happens to their minor child’s body.  Mr. Ducey’s views on parental consent fall solidly in the mainstream – he joins 71 percent of Americans and likely even a larger number of Arizonans.

The unborn children do not have a voice.  A child’s voice is a communal voice within the family. The family is charged by God and the laws of man to care for and protect the child. Then, when you mark your ballot for the next governor of Arizona, choose wisely.

Heather M. Johnson is a Catholic, wife, mother, veteran, labor & delivery nurse, and Chair of the Arizona Right To Life PAC.