Child Custody Protection Act
to Move Soon

By NRLC Federal Legislative Department

WASHINGTON (April 7) -- A major pro-life initiative, the Child Custody Protection Act (CCPA), has been reintroduced in Congress and is expected to be the subject of legislative action in the near future.

This bill would make it a federal crime to transport a minor across a state line for an abortion, if this circumvents a state law requiring parental or judicial involvement in the minor's abortion decision.

Such laws are currently in effect in about 21 states. The federal bill would not apply to minors who reside in states that do not have such laws.

"Young, vulnerable girls who find themselves faced with an unexpected pregnancy need the assistance of their parents at such a critical point in their lives," said Susan Muskett, an attorney with NRLC's Federal Legislative Department. "In light of the profound physical and psychological risks of an abortion to a minor, the involvement of a parent is all the more crucial."

Muskett noted that those involved in transporting a minor across state lines for an abortion may have motives of their own in pressuring the minor into obtaining a secret abortion. She cited research showing that the majority of school-age teen mothers are being impregnated by adult men.

In one California study, the median age of the adult partner was 22 years old. Since many of these men are vulnerable to statutory rape charges, they stand to benefit by the minor's secret abortion in order to keep their sexual relationship a secret.

"This legislation will help parents protect their young daughters at a time when they may be especially vulnerable to harmful manipulation by much older males," Muskett said.

This will be the second attempt to enact this NRLC-backed legislation. The CCPA was originally proposed in early 1998. It passed the House of Representatives on July 15, 1998, by a lopsided margin of 276-150, with 209 Republicans and 67 Democrats voting for the bill (House roll call 280).

The next day, the legislation was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Unfortunately, the bill died in a traffic jam on the Senate floor, as Democrats voted nearly en bloc to prevent the Senate from considering various Republican-sponsored initiatives near the end of the congressional session. Pro-life Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Ms.) attempted to overcome the procedural barriers by forcing a vote to "invoke cloture," but this attempt fell six votes short of the 60 votes required (Senate roll call 282, Sept. 22, 1998, cloture failed 54-45).

This year, the CCPA's sponsors are starting early, and they hope for approval by both houses by fall. However, the bill faces a veto threat from the Clinton-Gore Administration.

On March 18, Senator Spencer Abraham (R-Mi.) reintroduced the CCPA as S. 661. In introducing the bill, Sen. Abraham said, "Last year, this bill received a majority of votes but fell short of the sixty votes needed for cloture. It is my hope that this year the Senate will listen to the 74 percent of Americans who favor parental consent prior to a minor girl receiving an abortion."

The Senate is tentatively expected to take up the bill in late spring or early summer.

In the House, the bill was reintroduced on March 23 as HR 1218 by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fl.) and Congressman James Barcia (D-Mi.), with 119 cosponsors.

At a March 25 press conference announcing the reintroduction of the bill, Joyce Farley of Pennsylvania read a statement by her daughter, Crystal Lane, who was taken across state lines for an abortion without her mother's knowledge when she was only 13. Crystal wrote, "I strongly urge that the bill be passed. I wouldn't want any other girl to go through what I had to. I'm sorry for what I had to go through. But I'm glad it made people realize that young girls should not get an abortion without seeking advice from their parents or loved ones."

(For a complete account of this case, see Joyce Farley's 1998 congressional testimony, published in the Sept. 28, 1998, edition of NRL News, page 28, which is also available at www.nrlc.org/ news/1998/NRLC.98/joyce.html.)

The bill "will end the exploitation of our nation's minor girls from violators who recklessly disregard the law," Rep. Ros-Lehtinen said. "By making the circumvention of state parental consent and notification laws a federal misdemeanor, this legislation will not only help uphold the laws of our country, but it will give back to parents the right to parent, it will strengthen family bonds, and most importantly, it will ensure that America's youth have a safer, healthier, and brighter future."

House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Tx.) applauded the introduction of the bill, asserting that parents "shouldn't be kept in the dark when their child is faced with the most traumatic decision of her young life."

Representatives of several groups, in addition to NRLC, attended the March 25 press conference in support of the bill, including the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Concerned Women for America, Christian Coalition, Family Research Council, and Traditional Values Coalition.

Cathy Deeds, public policy analyst for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, said that "the Child Custody Protection Act should find support from people, and especially from parents, on both sides of the abortion debate. We urge Congress to pass this common-sense legislation."

In its press release, Christian Coalition Executive Director Randy Tate said, "Christian Coalition wholeheartedly supports this measure and will work hard to ensure its passage."

Besides providing for federal criminal penalties, the bill would also allow parents to sue any person who abridges their parental rights by transporting their minor daughter to another state for a secret abortion.

A national poll of 1,000 registered voters, conducted June 6-8, 1998, by the respected firm of Baselice & Associates, demonstrated strong public support for the concept of this legislation. When asked, "Should a person be able to take a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion without her parents' knowledge?" 78% strongly disagreed and another 7% somewhat disagreed, for a total of 85%, while 3% somewhat agreed and 6% strongly agreed.

Nevertheless, the abortion industry strongly opposes the bill, insisting that adult sexual partners, aunts, mothers-in-law, and strangers have a "constitutional right" to take minor girls across state lines for secret abortions.

In addition, the Clinton-Gore Administration opposes the bill and is demanding that the bill be amended to give "close family members" such as "grandmothers, aunts, and . . . siblings" the same rights as parents.

"Apparently President Clinton and Al Gore believe that a mother-in-law or aunt should be able to take a child to a different state for a secret abortion, while the parent is kept in the dark," commented NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.

For further information: A short NRLC factsheet, "Key Facts on the Child Custody Protection Act," is available at the NRLC web site at www.nrlc.org/abortion/ccpa/ccpakey.htm. A long resource paper on the bill, "Why We Need the Child Custody Protection Act" (updated April 1999) is available at www.nrlc.org/abortion/ccpa/ccpafact.html.

Action Request: In light of the strong opposition to the CCPA by both the abortion industry and the Clinton-Gore Administration, it is vital that pro-life citizens voice their support for the bill.

All House members may be reached at House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. All senators may be reached at Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510.

Please send a copy of any response received from a lawmaker to the NRLC Federal Legislative Department at 419-Seventh Street, Northwest, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20004, fax (301) 347-3668, e-mail: Legfederal@aol.com.