Congressional Bill Stopping Secret Abortions on Teen Girls Reintroduced 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 16, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A Congressional bill upholding the ability of parents to protect their teenage daughters form being taken out of state for a secret abortion has been reintroduced. However, whether abortion advocates who control Congress will allow a vote on the measure is another question.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican, re-introduced the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) yesterday.
The measure, H.R. 1063, has 105 co-sponsors and it makes it a crime to transport a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion to evade parental consent law or parental notification law in the teen’s home state.
"Over 30 states currently have laws in effect that require the consent or notification of at least one parent, or court authorization before a minor can obtain an abortion," Ros-Lehtinen said in a letter to her colleagues that LifeNews.com obtained.
"This bill will not create a mandate, but will simply enforce state laws that are designed to protect our daughters from potential harm," she added. The bill will "help ensure the safety of our nation’s young girls and protect the inherent rights of parents."
CIANA also requires that, in a state without a parental notification requirement, abortion practitioners notify a parent when a teenager comes out of state for an abortion.
Pro-life groups support the bill and are encouraging their members to both contact their Representatives to support it and to ask Democratic leaders to allow it a vote in committee and on the House floor.
“Parental involvement in a young girl’s medical decisions is always important, but particularly so when the decision will have life-long consequences, such as is the case with abortion," Concerned Women for America president Wendy Wright told LifeNews.com.
"While the pro-abortion movement would like us to believe that girls can escape abortion unscathed, the reality is that abortion inflicts emotional and physical trauma that will remain with the girl as long as she lives," she added.
Wright said Democratic leaders of the House should schedule a vote because parental notification is an issue on which polls show most Americans support.
“Democrat leadership has said that they would like to find common ground issues we can agree on," Wright said. "Encouraging parental involvement should be a bi-partisan effort that we hope will be reflected in the vote."
CIANA passed the House last September by a bipartisan margin of 264-153, but a minority of Senators blocked the bill by voting against a cloture motion to end debate and vote on the bill.
The House also voted for the bill in April 2005 with an equally lopsided vote in favor of it.
ACTION: Contact your Representative and urge strong support for the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, HR 1063. Also contact Democratic leaders and urge a debate and vote on the bill. You can find contact information for any member at https://www.house.gov.
