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Coleman Applauds Senate Passage of Bill to Prohibit Minors from Crossing State Lines for Abortions

Date: July 25, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Abortion


COLEMAN APPLAUDS SENATE PASSAGE OF BILL TO PROHBIT MINORS FROM CROSSING STATE LINES FOR ABORTIONS
Legislation would prevent minors from circumventing state parental notification laws by traveling across state lines

Senator Norm Coleman today joined his colleagues in the Senate in voting to pass the Child Custody Protection Act, which would make it a federal offense for non-parents to transport a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion. Passing by a vote of 65 to 34, the bill is intended to prevent children from traveling to another state in order to circumvent their home state's parental notification laws. Coleman is a co-sponsor of the legislation.

"When it comes to the health of our children, I think it is important that we remember the vital role that a parent plays," said Coleman. "If a child's home state requires parental notification, then no other individual should be able to circumvent the law by taking the child across state lines. This bill will protect the right of every state to apply their own parental notification laws to residents while ensuring that the health of the children involved is not being sacrificed. Protecting our children should be our top priority, and I am hopeful that this legislation will become the law of the land."

Provisions of the legislation would:

* Amend the Federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor across a state line to obtain an abortion if this would circumvent parental notification laws in the state of the minor's residence;

* Make an exception if the abortion was necessary to save the life of the minor;

* Specify that neither the minor transported nor her parent may be prosecuted or sued for a violation of this Act;

* Authorize any parent who suffers harm from a violation to obtain appropriate relief in a civil action; and

* Allow violations to include a fine or not more than a year in prison.

"This bill does not preempt current state laws on parental notification before an abortion. Instead it will serve as a compliment to state laws by ensuring that a resident cannot avoid their own state's laws by crossing the border," Coleman added.

http://coleman.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=1040&Month=7&Year=2006

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