WASHINGTON (May 7) - - The Judiciary committees of the Senate and House of Representatives are expected to hold hearings during May on legislation that would restrict the secret transportation of minors across state lines to obtain abortions.
The bill, the Child Custody Protection Act (S. 1645, HR 3682), is strongly backed by NRLC. It has also been endorsed by the Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America, and the Family Research Council, and the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
The measure has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Spencer Abraham (R-Mi.) and in the House by Congresswoman Ileana Ros- Lehtinen (R-Fl.).
The bill would make it a federal offense to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of obtaining an abortion, if this circumvents a state law requiring parental or judicial involvement in a minor's abortion decision. Pro-abortion activists have acknowledged that this practice is commonplace, and they insist that it must be permitted under Roe v. Wade. [For details on the bill, see "NRLC Pushes for Federal Ban on Interstate Circumvention of Parental Consent Laws," February 11 NRL News, page 1.]
The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by pro-life Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), had scheduled a public hearing on the bill for April 30, but that hearing was postponed until May 20. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, chaired by pro-life Congressman Charles Canady (R-Fl.), also plans to have a hearing on the legislation during May. Both Hatch and Canady are sponsors of the legislation.
Neither panel has yet scheduled a vote on the measure, but backers are hoping that the measure will be considered on the House and Senate floors this summer.
The Clinton Administration has so far taken no position on the bill.
For a copy of a detailed NRLC factsheet on this legislation, "Why We Need the Child Custody Protection Act," please contact the NRLC Federal Legislative Office at (202) 626-8820, fax (202) 347- 3668, e-mail: Legfederal@aol.com, or go to the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org.