Senate backs abortion notification measure
WASHINGTON – The Senate voted Tuesday to make it a crime to take a pregnant girl across state lines to obtain an abortion without her parents’ knowledge, handing a long-sought victory to the Bush administration and abortion opponents.
The bill would help about three dozen states enforce laws that require minors to notify or obtain the consent of their parents before having an abortion. It would bar people – including clergy members and grandparents – from helping a girl travel to another state to avoid parental-involvement laws. Violations could result in a year in prison.
Most states have passed such laws, but courts have invalidated at least nine of them, advocacy groups say. The Senate voted 65 to 34 to approve the bill, which is similar to one the House has approved before, including last year.
The White House said the measure would “protect the health and safety of minors” and “protect the rights of parents to be involved in the medical decisions of their minor daughters consistent with the widespread belief among authorities in the field that it is the parents of a pregnant minor who are best suited to provide her counsel, guidance and support.”
In a statement, President Bush said: “I appreciate the Senate’s efforts to preserve the integrity of state law and protect our nation’s families.”
The administration urged House and Senate negotiators to reconcile their differences and send Bush a bill to sign. Unlike the Senate version, the House measure would penalize physicians who knowingly perform abortions for minors who circumvented parental-involvement laws.
Tuesday’s vote marked the most significant congressional action on abortion in some time. Republicans, concerned about sagging poll numbers as they approach the November elections, have emphasized a “values agenda” that includes bids to ban flag desecration, same-sex marriage and estate taxes.
Democrats are pushing back, accusing Republicans of trying to frighten and divide the electorate rather than tackle tough issues such as high gasoline prices and the Iraq war. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., an anti-abortion Democrat who voted for the bill, will spend part of the summer stressing the need to prevent unwanted pregnancies, aides said.
The Senate vote was a victory for anti-abortion activists who have tried in vain to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states. For years, advocates on both sides of the issue have battled at the state level over narrower questions, including parental notification and consent for minors.
Fifty-one Republicans and 14 Democrats voted for the bill, while four Republicans, 29 Democrats and one independent voted against it.
The bill would not penalize a minor, or her parents, for crossing state lines to obtain an abortion.
Opponents said the Senate measure could threaten the safety of girls, saying parents might beat their daughters if they find out about plans for an abortion. The proponents’ approach “is not to deal with the reality of young people” in troubled families, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.