House Supports Parents' Right to Protect Their Children

House Supports Parents' Right to Protect Their Children
April 28, 2005

Washington - Congressman Joe Pitts (R, PA-16) last night voted for the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) today. The legislation reinforces state parental notification laws and penalizes those who seek to circumvent them. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 270 to 157.

"In our nation," said Congressman Pitts, "a minor cannot take an aspirin at school or go on a field trip or get her ears pierced without a parent's permission. That's because we respect the role of parents in the raising and protecting of their own children. When it comes to abortion, it should be no different.

"About 80 percent of the public favors parental notification laws, and over 30 states have enacted such laws. However, as in the case of a constituent of mine who testified before Congress last month, these laws are often evaded by interstate transportation of minors. In fact, abortion providers often use advertising to encourage circumventing state parental notification laws.

"CIANA would make it a Federal offense to transport a minor across state lines to circumvent that state's abortion parental notification laws. In addition, the bill requires that in a state without a parental notification requirement, abortion providers are required to notify a parent.

"This legislation merely reinforces the decisions many states have made to give parents a say in this process. No parent should be kept in the dark when it comes to any medical issue regarding their children," said Congressman Pitts.

http://www.house.gov/pitts/press/releases/050428r-ciana.htm