House Seeks Parental Consent for Abortion

The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), H.R. 748, passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 270-157 on April 27.

H.R. 748 “makes it a federal offense to knowingly transport a minor across a state line with the intent that she obtain an abortion, in circumvention of a state’s parental consent or parental notification law,” according to a news release from the House Judiciary Committee, which held hearings on the bill in March.

Forty-four states have parental involvement statutes, with 34 in effect today. In some states, the statute has passed but has not yet gone into effect, and in others it is in litigation. Parental involvement can mean notification, notification if possible, consent, written consent, or notarized consent. Twenty-three states require a parent to be notified of their minor daughter’s intention to undergo an abortion or consent to the performance of the abortion.

The House bill “also requires that a parent, or if necessary a legal guardian, be notified pursuant to a default federal parental notification rule when a minor crosses state lines to obtain an abortion, unless one of several carefully drawn exceptions is met.”

Support Was Bipartisan

CIANA was introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) on February 10, 2005 with 108 supporters from both sides of the political aisle.

“A minor who is forbidden to drink alcohol, to stay out past a certain hour, or to get her ears pierced, is certainly not prepared to make a life-altering, hazardous, and potentially fatal decision, such as abortion, without the consultation or consent of at least one parent,” Ros-Lehtinen said at the time.

At the Judiciary hearing, the committee heard from a mother, Marcia Carroll of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who testified that her minor daughter had been taken to New Jersey without Carroll’s knowledge by the girl’s boyfriend’s parents, who refused to take her back to Pennsylvania until she had an abortion. The mother had no idea of her child’s whereabouts during her absence.

Women’s Group Lauds Vote

Supporters of the bill expressed their approval of the House vote. “We owe many thanks to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for her sponsorship of this vital bill and for her commitment to defend minor girls who are taken advantage of in their vulnerable condition by those who do not hold their best interest at heart,” said Lanier Swann, Concerned Women for America’s (CWA) director of government relations.

“Adults who abuse minor girls and those who assist by covering up the evidence must both be held accountable,” said Wendy Wright, CWA’s senior policy director. “How heart-rending for a young woman to be statutorily raped--but doubly tragic for other adults to form a conspiracy network to evade state laws intended to protect her.

“Imagine the horror of being whisked away from those who could rescue you, and then dumped back on your parent’s doorstep after the deadly deed is done and expected to keep it all a secret to shield the abusers,” said Wright.

Public Strongly Favors Laws

An Opinion Dynamics Corporation poll for the Fox News Channel found 78 percent of Americans favor parental notification laws, while 72 percent support parental consent laws.

Nevertheless, the two senators from New York expressed doubt about their willingness to vote for the bill when it comes to the Senate.

“I don’t believe that any young woman should have to make this decision alone,” said Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in a statement to the Washington Post. “But, tragically, there are sometimes instances in which a young woman simply cannot involve her parents, including rape, violence, or incest.”

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) also opposes the measure, saying it “makes criminals out of friends, relatives, even taxicab drivers and others who may come in contact with a woman who has not notified her parents of a medical procedure she is entitled to under the Constitution. This is a bad bill for women’s health.”

President States Support

In a statement released after the House vote, President George W. Bush said the law would “protect the health and safety of minors by ensuring that state parental involvement laws are not circumvented. ... The parents of pregnant minors can provide counsel, guidance, and support to their children and should be involved in these decisions.”

The bill is expected to be taken up by the Senate this summer.

Susan Konig (konig@heartland.org) is managing editor of Health Care News.