Dr. Connie Mitchell is a nationally recognized expert on the health care of victims of violence and abuse. She serves on the AMA National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse and is a member of the Board of Directors of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health.

I believe that the people who have financed and supported Proposition 85 are sincere, so I must ask: what do they really want? Decreased teenage abortion rates? More parental involvement with teens? Time to explore all the pros and cons of a decision regarding abortion? Whatever the real goals of Prop. 85, as Senator Clinton said in a recent phone message about this initiative: "We can do better."

If the goal of Prop. 85 is to reduce teenage abortion rates, we can do this a better way. Teen pregnancy and abortion rates are already declining in California. California was one of the first states to refuse federal funding for sex education, because educators wanted to ensure that young men and women in our state get complete information about their sexual health. If the backers of Prop. 85 really want to reduce teen pregnancy rates, they should help support legislation that requires and funds comprehensive sexuality education. We must also ensure that teens who do become sexually active – despite our concerns that their minds are not as mature as their bodies – have access to contraception. If they're not ready for sex, then by all means, they're not ready for a baby.

What about the goal of encouraging parental involvement and protecting teens in crisis? Parents who want their teens to turn to them in a time of crisis need to communicate their values and beliefs to their children from an early age. The majority of families do communicate, and they are involved in a daughter's decision to have an abortion. But I also know that some teens just can't talk with their parents on a variety of issues, especially anything to do with sex.

There is a better way to encourage family communication by teaching parents the skills to talk with their children about the issues that matter – not at a moment of crisis, but starting when their children are young. Prenatal care programs, early childhood education, WIC, and Family Pact are excellent programs in California that can (or could) include parent education about how to communicate on the "tough" topics.

As a doctor who studies public health, I know there is an art to crafting good health policy that benefits the targeted audience in a helpful, healthful way and that avoids imposing punitive measures or costly bureaucracy. Prop. 85 is not good health policy.

I am afraid that what Prop. 85 is really about is trying to control others. The initiative's supporters want to control women's access to and decisions about healthcare, as well as controlling the relationship between doctors and our patients. They also want to control teens' normal development, including their emerging sexuality and increasing need for independence and confidentiality as they move toward adulthood.

I think Prop. 85 is also about the lack of control that parents must face as their children grow up and become increasingly independent. As parents, we feel a lack of control everyday when we think about all the things that could hurt our children. It's natural for children to test their limits, experiment or make mistakes. Any parent will tell you that the pain of their children is worse than their own pain could ever be.

As parents, we must control the things that we can: from seatbelts and nutrition, to regular conversations about values and difficult issues, and tactics for problem solving and decision making. And as parents, we must provide guidance in anticipation of the things that we can't control: how to recognize people that don't have your best interests at heart; how to assess if a situation is safe or not; how to keep your self-respect a priority; how to be an individual that deserves respect from others; and how to accept mistakes and learn from them.

Helping kids to be smart about their bodies and helping parents to learn how to prepare their kids for peer pressures or developmental tasks is much better health policy than Prop. 85 – the former is proactive and preventive, and the benefits are greater and long lasting. Let's put our combined money, minds and energy to better use and help families with better policy than Prop. 85. VOTE NO on Prop. 85.