The Associated Press
and The Cincinnati Enquirer
House Republicans pushed through legislation Wednesday to restrict abortions by teen-agers.
The House voted, 276-150, for a bill making it a crime for anyone who is not the parent or legal guardian of a pregnant teen-ager to evade parental involvement laws in her home state by taking her to a state where there are no requirements for underage girls seeking abortions.
Ohio law requires minors to notify at least one parent before getting an abortion. Kentucky and Indiana require parental consent, too.
With that protocol in place, say some abortion-rights activists in Ohio, the new federal law is unnecessary.
"It will affect an infinitesimally small number of people (in Ohio)," said Debi Jackson, president and executive director of Cincinnati Women's Services.
Ninety percent of young women 14 or younger tell at least one parent about their decision to have an abortion, said Joan Englund, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.
But, she said, for those who choose not to consult a parent "(the law) will have a tragic effect."
Sponsors said the bill would safeguard parental rights, protect the health of young girls and ensure compliance with parental consent or notification laws on the books in more than 30 states.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the prime sponsor, said many schools require parental consent to give children medicine, take them on trips or dismiss them early from class.
But with abortion, "a stranger can take our daughters with no repercussions whatsoever," she said.
Supporters of the bill in Cincinnati echo that concern.
"This isn't anything unusual," said Barbara Willke, chairman of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati. "This is just good medicine. You can't give a kid aspirin without the permission of a parent. You certainly can't take her to have this kind of surgery without telling a parent."
There is no way to police those patients who do, Ms. Jackson said. "What are they going to do -- put check points at the borders?"
Other opponents said the bill would force teens who fear telling their parents about their pregnancies to seek unsafe abortions or travel out of state by themselves for abortions -- for which they would not be punished under the legislation.
"Instead of helping young women deal with the difficult circumstances, we are denying (them) the assistance of trusted adults, endangering their health and violating their constitutional rights," Ms. Englund said.
Sixty-seven Democrats joined 209 Republicans in voting for the bill, but the tally came up a few votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override President Clinton's threatened veto. The Senate Judiciary Committee was to vote today on its version of the bill.
The White House supports the bill's purpose but insists that Congress exempt close family members from the penalties.
However, House Republicans blocked all amendments to the bill, which makes it a federal misdemeanor to evade parental involvement laws on abortion by going out of state.
Legal custodians would be exempt, and neither the minor nor the parent may be prosecuted or sued under the proposal, which said nothing about how the government would enforce it.
Penalties would not apply if the abortion was to save the girl's life.
Other critics said the GOP was playing politics with the emotionally charged issue.
"This piece of legislation doesn't concern strengthening families," said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. "It concerns advancing an agenda of the most fanatical people."
In addition to Wednesday's vote, the House was expected to vote next week to override Mr. Clinton's veto of a ban on a late-term abortion procedure called "partial-birth" abortion by its critics. The proposal cleared the House by a veto-proof margin of 296-132 in October.
House and Senate GOP leaders are eager to get these proposals to Mr. Clinton before Congress adjourns for the fall elections, as well as to demonstrate their commitment to the Christian Coalition and other conservative groups whose support will be crucial to Republican candidates.
Lara Becker contributed to this report.
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