Posted on 03/25/2002 7:09:41 PM PST by chance33_98
March 22, 2002
Your action is urgently needed! Please call and email your U.S. representative immediately and urge her or him to oppose a bill that would be lethal to young women.
The Teen Endangerment Act (H.R. 476), called the Child Custody Protection Act by its sponsors, would criminalize anyone other than a parent who accompanies a minor across state lines for an abortion if she has not complied with her home state's parental consent or notification law. A grandmother, older sister or religious counselor could face a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted of taking a teen to another state for an abortion.
The bill's Republican supporters claim it would increase parents' involvement in their daughter's abortion decisions. In reality, this bill is yet another attempt by the Bush administration and anti-abortion forces to criminalize abortion.
The bill ignores the many young women in abusive families who simply cannot talk to their parents about a pregnancy. In fact, House Republicans are so callous to the needs of pregnant teens that, in a parliamentary maneuver, they prevented Democrats from even voting on amendments to the bill that would exempt girls who are pregnant as a result of incest.
And they didn't think about the fact that if a teenage girl feels she has no one to whom she can turn, she may take matters into her own hands - with lethal results.
Here are your talking points on the counterproductive Teen Endangerment Act:
* Government cannot mandate open family communication where it does not exist. Many young women in troubled families cannot tell their parents about a crisis pregnancy without fearing for their lives. In Idaho, a man shot and killed his 13-year-old daughter when she told him she was going to abort the fetus he "fathered." When a young woman cannot involve a parent about an abortion decision - because of incest or any other reason - government policy should encourage her to consult a trusted adult.
* Teenage girls with healthy parental relationships die as a result of mandatory parental involvement and notification laws. In 1988, 17-year-old Becky Bell of Indiana died after a "back alley" abortion because she could not obtain a safe, legal one without informing her parents - she didn't want to tell her parents she was pregnant for fear of disappointing them. Major medical associations including the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association oppose mandatory parental involvement laws precisely because of these dangers.
* People in the U.S. have the right to exercise their constitutional rights in all states, not just in their home state. If passed into law, this bill would raise serious federalism issues - not unlike making it a federal crime for residents of states that prohibit gambling to go on a gambling vacation to Las Vegas or Atlantic City.
* The bill will not encourage young women to consult their parents about an abortion decision. Studies show that teenagers talk to their parents about a crisis pregnancy at the same rate in states with and without parental involvement laws. If a girl decides she cannot talk to a parent, legislation like this will not change her mind. The bill would only prevent young women from seeking guidance from trusted adults, including religious counselors, medical providers and other adult family members.
The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, March 21 and is now scheduled for a full House vote after the spring recess in April. If passed in the House, it will go to the Senate where its future is uncertain. Please contact your U.S. representative and urge her or him to oppose the Teen Endangerment Act, a cruel attempt by legislators to use government regulation to take away the reproductive rights of young women.
Call the main house switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or TTY (202) 225-1904 and ask to be connected to your representative. Or, click on "Go!" above to send an email.
The fount of all wisdom and knowledge, protector of the downtrodden of the world.
The last time I checked, this situation was illegal to begin with: If the girl would have gone to the authorities, she would have been removed from the custody of the man, before he killed her. Any court would have removed her from the household! It has nothing to do with her having to tell her father about an abortion: It has to do with statutory rape and incest. Talk about NOW trying to cloud the situation...
* Teenage girls with healthy parental relationships die as a result of mandatory parental involvement and notification laws. In 1988, 17-year-old Becky Bell of Indiana died after a "back alley" abortion because she could not obtain a safe, legal one without informing her parents - she didn't want to tell her parents she was pregnant for fear of disappointing them. Major medical associations including the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association oppose mandatory parental involvement laws precisely because of these dangers.
Is this the only case of someone dying from a "back alley abortion?" Having to go back 13 years? How many women have died from legal abortions?
* The bill will not encourage young women to consult their parents about an abortion decision. Studies show that teenagers talk to their parents about a crisis pregnancy at the same rate in states with and without parental involvement laws. If a girl decides she cannot talk to a parent, legislation like this will not change her mind. The bill would only prevent young women from seeking guidance from trusted adults, including religious counselors, medical providers and other adult family members.
It seems to me that NOW is trying to undermine the authority of parents here: How about this... If NOW gets their way, for anyone to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion, which is an invasive medical procedure, that person must first agree to take on all moral (yeah, as if) and financial responsibilities for that minor, until the age of 18, effectively becoming that minor's parent. If that person is either unwilling, or unable, then NOW must take full financial responsibility for that minor, until the age of 18.
Mark
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