[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12127]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 TRANSPORTING MINORS ACROSS STATE LINES FOR ABORTION SHOULD BE FEDERAL 
                              MISDEMEANOR

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, yesterday a subcommittee approved a 
bill to make it a Federal misdemeanor for strangers to transport minor 
girls across State lines in order to avoid State abortion parental 
consent or notification laws. My bill is designed to punish those who 
take teenagers to other States for a secret abortion, thereby deceiving 
parents and avoiding the parental consent laws.
  This commonsense legislation, which currently enjoys the support of 
almost 130 Members, will prevent our children from falling prey to 
strangers. The idea that any nonparent can take one's 13-year-old 
daughter to another State for a secret and potentially fatal abortion 
should be appalling to any parent and should convince this Congress to 
move swiftly on the bill.
  I commend the members of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the 
Committee on the Judiciary for protecting the basic right of parents to 
participate in all decisions involving their minor children, and I ask 
that the Committee on the Judiciary and the full House do the same as 
soon as possible.

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