US House Republicans Revise Committee Report on Federal Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 07 May 2005 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

House Republicans on Thursday, after a weeklong dispute with House Democrats, agreed to revise the language in a committee report summarizing action taken on the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act... (HR 748), the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (Abrams, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/5). The measure, which the House approved last week, would allow federal charges to be filed against any individual who transports a minor across state lines to have an abortion without parental involvement. It also would authorize fines of up to $100,000 or up to one year in prison for people who violate the measure and also could penalize doctors who perform abortions on minors from other states. Before approving the measure, the House last month defeated several Democrat-sponsored amendments, including one proposed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) that would have exempted a girl's grandparents or adult siblings from facing penalties under the measure. However, a committee report issued last week summarizing the amendments said that Nadler's proposal would have exempted sexual predators if they are grandparents or adult siblings (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 5/4).

Revisions, Comments
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) on Thursday filed a revised committee report without the references to sexual predators, the AP/Chronicle reports. However, the amended report includes Republicans' concerns that some of the proposed amendments would have created loopholes that could be exploited by sexual predators. The report also includes Democrats' "dissenting views," which stated that the amendments had neither the intent nor the effect of helping sexual predators, according to the AP/Chronicle. Nadler in a House floor speech said the changes are "a tacit acknowledgement of the inaccuracy and untruthfulness of the original report." However, he praised Sensenbrenner for making the changes and said he hopes the correction of the "slanderous report language" will bring "this unfortunate chapter" to an end. Sensenbrenner did not speak on the House floor, the AP/Chronicle reports (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/5).

New York Post Examines Rodham Clinton's Opposition to Legislation
The New York Post on Friday examined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) opposition to the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, a move that is "putting the brakes" on her recent attempts to "move to the political middle." Rodham Clinton says she opposes the legislation because it "glosses over" some "complicated situations" in which a minor cannot involve her parents in a decision to seek an abortion, according to the Post. Her opposition "could have long-term ramifications" for a potential 2008 presidential bid because the "overwhelming majority of Americans" support parental notification requirements, the Post reports (Bishop, New York Post, 5/6). The complete article is available online.

WBUR's "The Connection" on Friday in the first hour of the program is scheduled to include a discussion of new abortion restrictions in the United States, including the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act legislation. Guests on the program will include Alexis Hale, executive director of First Choice Womens' Centers; Susan Hill, president of the National Women's Health Foundation; and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who is the sponsor of the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (Gordon, "The Connection," WBUR, 5/6). The complete segment will be available online in RealPlayer after the broadcast.

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations