'A Victory for Families' in Senate Abortion Vote
by Jody Brown
July 26, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Senate Republicans and Democrats came down on both sides of the issue, but in the end nearly two-thirds of the senators decided that parents -- not a friend, not a grandparent, and not a member of the clergy -- should be the ultimate authority in their minor daughter's decision to go out of state to have an abortion. Requiring a simple majority for passage, the Child Custody Protection Act (S. 403) on Tuesday received an almost two-thirds majority vote (65-34) for a measure that places a restriction on abortion. CCPA makes it a federal offense to knowingly transport a minor across a state line for the purpose of an abortion in order to circumvent a state's parental consent or notification law. It specifies that neither the minor transported nor her parent may be prosecuted for a violation of the act.
Republican sponsors said the bill supports what a majority of the public believes: that a parent's right to know takes precedence over a girl's right to have an abortion. In introducing the bill, sponsor John Ensign (R-NV) noted that it makes no sense to leave parents out of an abortion decision -- because parental permission is required in less-serious matters.
"In most schools across the country," he stated, "our children cannot go on a field trip, take part in school activities, or participate in sex education without a signed permission slip. An underage child cannot even receive mild medication such as aspirin unless the school nurse has a signed release form." Some states, Ensign pointed out, even require parental permission to use indoor tanning beds. "Nothing, however, prevents this same child from being taken across state lines in direct disobedience of state laws for the purpose of undergoing a surgical, life-altering abortion."
Senators rejected an amendment proposed by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein that would have let grandparents or clergy take a girl across state lines for an abortion without her parents' knowledge. Senator Robert Melendez (D-NJ) argued that clergy should be able to help the victim of an incestuous father get an abortion. "Instead of punishing him, we would punish grandmothers or clergy who actually have to try to protect her from such an abusive relationship."
In response, Ensign said his bill would not leave girls at the mercy of an incestuous father. "Clergy, a friend, whoever it is should be calling the local authorities so that that young child can get out of the situation that they're in," he explained. "The authorities should be involved -- and in that case, you would have judicial bypass."
Senators subsequently -- and unanimously -- approved a Feinstein amendment calling for parents who have committed incest to be punished.
A Victory for Families
Surprising no one, Planned Parenthood Federation of America says CCPA jeopardizes the health and safely of teens. "Parents need support to keep their kids healthy and safe -- not laws that criminalize family members for helping teens get access to good medical care," says a spokeswoman for the federally-funded abortion provider. "We believe that when a family is facing a difficult situation," says Stephanie Foster, "the last thing that family needs is for elected officials to interfere in their ability to make healthcare decisions."
In contrast, Concerned Women for America is praising Senate passage of the CCPA, calling it an "enormous victory" for families. A group spokeswoman says the legislation defends parents' authority in their children's lives.
"[Parents] are best equipped to handle the physical, emotional, and psychological health of their child," says Lanier Swann, CWA's director of government relations. "Circumventing the law by crossing state lines with an older boyfriend, friend, or anyone other than a parent fiercely undermines a parent's right to protect their child."
That ability to skirt a law by traveling to a state which has no parental notification requirement, she says, poses a great danger to teenage girls who have been preyed upon by older men. "There are many ill-intentioned adults who would like nothing more than to cover up their actions by covertly terminating a pregnancy," states Swann. "[T]he CCPA will go a long way in putting an end to those very real dangers."
What Next?
The U.S. House has passed similar legislation protecting parental knowledge rights in cases of abortion, but vast differences between the two versions stand between the measure and President Bush's desk. Swann says her organization is hopeful conferees from both chambers of Congress can put aside partisan politics so the bill can quickly make its way to the president's desk for his signature. But according to one pro-life group in the nation's capital, Senate opponents attempted to kill the bill even after it had passed overwhelmingly.
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) reports that shortly after the vote on the CCPA, the Democratic leadership in the Senate erected a "procedural roadblock" to a routine move allowing appointment of a conference committee to iron out differences with the House version. NRLC's legislative director, Douglas Johnson, explains what happened.
"Fourteen Democratic senators voted to pass the bill, but only minutes later the Democratic caucus collectively moved to kill the bill by objecting to the routine, necessary step of sending the bill to a conference committee," Johnson says. The NRLC spokesman contends the minority leadership in the Senate is kowtowing to special interests.
"The Senate Democratic leadership is now obstructing legislation supported by 80 percent of the public, doing the bidding of the abortion lobby," he says. "They are ignoring the 80 percent of the public that believes parental notification laws protect vulnerable minors and the rights of parents."
Johnson notes that since 1998, the House has passed legislation four times dealing with parental notification. Each time, he says, it has been killed by actions of the Senate Democratic caucus.
