[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 50 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E655-E656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM GRAVES

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 29, 2002

  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 476, the Child Custody Protection Act, 
is an important measure that Congress should pass and allow President 
Bush to sign. Transporting minors across State lines for abortions to 
circumvent State parental involvement laws is a widespread problem in 
our country.
  In this Country we, as citizens, do not allow our minor children to 
drive a car, to buy alcohol, or cigarettes, or even to vote. How can we 
as parents allow minor children to travel across certain State lines to 
obtain an abortion, without parental consent?
  The purpose of the Child Custody Protection Act is twofold. The first 
is to protect the health and safety of young girls by preventing valid 
and constitutional State parental involvement laws from being 
circumvented. This is not a Federal parental involvement law. This 
plainly

[[Page E656]]

ensures that these State laws are not evaded through interstate 
activity. This bill is the Federal reinforcement to the enacted State 
measures providing constitutionally sound parental involvement in their 
childrens lives. Parental involvement during one of the most terrifying 
decisions a minor girl will ever make will improve medical care and 
safety for those young women.
  The second purpose is to protect the rights of parents to be involved 
in the medical decisions of their minor daughters. Parents need to be 
aware that their minor daughter may be subjected to surgery or to the 
administration of drugs that could be dangerous to her health. There 
may be a multiple of potential health risks that the minor has no 
knowledge about including a history of family illness or allergies.
  This is something that affects our entire Nation. In fact, in 1997, a 
study in the American Journal of Public Health reported that a leading 
abortion provider in Missouri refers minors out of State for abortions 
if the girls do not want to involve their parents. Reproductive Health 
Services, which performs over half of the abortions performed in 
Missouri, refers minors to the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, 
Illinois. Research reveals that based on the available data the odds of 
a minor traveling out of State for an abortion increased by over 50 
percent when Missouri's parental consent law went into effect. 
Furthermore, compared to older women, underage girls were significantly 
more likely to travel out of State to have their abortions.
  A 1999 St. Louis Post-Dispatch news report confirms that the Hope 
Clinic in Illinois continues to attract underage girls seeking 
abortions without parental involvement. According to the report, the 
Hope Clinic performed 3,200 abortions on out-of-State women last year, 
and the clinic's executive director estimates that number is 45% of the 
total abortions performed at the clinic. The executive director also 
estimates that 13% of the clinic's clients are minors.
  This legislation will work to protect our young children. I thank my 
colleagues for supporting this legislation and I look forward to swift 
action by the Senate. We cannot allow our children to make this life 
altering decision alone. Parents need to provide a protective hand; 
H.R. 476 is the protection our children deserve.

                          ____________________