[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 80 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H4726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SUPPORT THE CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION ACT

  (Mr. COBURN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. Speaker, I stand today to support H.R. 3682, the 
Child Custody Protection Act.
  I am a practicing physician. I deliver babies, and what I would want 
Members of this body and the American public to know is, do you think 
it is right for a 12-year-old child or a 13-year-old child to be taken 
across a State line to have an abortion performed when they are 
incapable of making that decision themselves and without the knowledge 
of the parents? That is what this bill is all about.
  If, in fact, a child is transported across a State line for an 
abortion to violate the laws of the State in which they reside, then, 
in fact, it would be a Federal offense.
  The real issue is whether or not parents ought to be involved in the 
reproductive health of their children.

                              {time}  1030

  Whether they ought to know, whether they ought to be given 
information about whether or not their child is seeking help in the 
midst of a difficulty, some would have us say that the government is 
the answer to that. I believe the parents are the answer to that. And I 
believe that we should pass the Child Custody Protection Law.

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