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Senate passes teen abortion measure

The bill makes it a crime to take a girl out of state for an abortion without her parents' knowledge.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 26, 2006

WASHINGTON - A bill that would make it a crime to take a pregnant girl across state lines for an abortion without her parents' knowledge passed the Senate on Tuesday, but vast differences with the House version stood between the measure and President Bush's desk.

The 65-34 vote gave the Senate's approval to the bill, which would make taking a pregnant girl to another state for the purposes of evading parental notification laws punishable by fines and up to a year in jail.

The girl and her parents would be exempt from prosecution, and the bill contains an exception for abortions performed in this manner that posed a threat to the mother's life.

Republicans 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. Polls have consistently shown overwhelming support for the bill, with about 75 percent saying a parent has the right to give consent before a child younger than 18 has an abortion.

"No parent wants anyone to take their children across state lines or even across the street without their permission," said Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "This is a fundamental right, and the Congress is right to uphold it in law."

Bush applauded the Senate action and urged the House and Senate to resolve their differences and send him a bill he said he would sign. "Transporting minors across state lines to bypass parental consent laws regarding abortion undermines state law and jeopardizes the lives of young women," he said in a statement.

Fourteen Democrats and 51 Republicans voted for the bill. Four Republicans voted against it: Sens. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Susan Collins of Maine, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was absent.

Both Florida senators, Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson, voted in favor of the bill.

Democrats sought an exemption for confidants to whom a girl with abusive parents might turn for help. They also said the measure is designed chiefly to energize the Republican party's base of conservative voters.

"Congress ought to have higher priorities than turning grandparents into criminals," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

Significant differences exist between the Senate bill and a measure passed by the House last year.

Unlike the Senate bill, the House measure sets out a national parental notification law. It would require a physician who knowingly performs or induces an abortion on a minor who is a resident of another state to provide notice of at least 24 hours to a parent before ending the pregnancy.

States that do not have parental notification or consent laws are Washington, Oregon, New York, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The District of Columbia also does not have such laws.

Democrats said the bill would be dangerous to pregnant teens who have abusive or neglectful parents by discouraging others from helping them.

"We're going to sacrifice a lot of girls' lives," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

However, there is no data that indicates how many girls get abortions in this way, or who helps them do it. And Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said opponents "want to strip the overwhelming majority of good parents their rightful role and responsibility because of the misbehavior of a few."

[Last modified July 26, 2006, 01:39:23]