Parental and Abortion Rights Collide in Senate

From Cybercast News Service:

(CNSNews.com) - As the U.S. Senate prepares to debate the Child Custody Protection Act Tuesday, pro-life advocates worry that Democrats' proposed amendments to the bill will undermine its intent.

The Child Custody Protection Act would prohibit anyone other than a parent or guardian of a minor from taking that minor across state lines in order to obtain an abortion.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only six states -- Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington State -- have no laws requiring either parental consent or notification for minors seeking abortions. As a result, those six states have become destinations for minors seeking abortions without having to tell their parents.

But California Democratic Sens. Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have proposed amendments that would weaken the bill.

Feinstein's amendment would allow grandparents or clergy members to take a minor out of the state for an abortion. Boxer's amendment proposes that the bill not apply to any minor who has an abortion as a result of pregnancy by incest.

"The Feinstein amendment really opens up a loophole that is of great concern for us," Lanier Swann, director of government relations for Concerned Women for America, told Cybercast News Service. "It's quite easy to be deemed a clergyman in the Internet age. For some churches it can take as little as five minutes to complete an ordination process via the Internet.

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