April 26, 2005 -- House May Curb Interstate Abortion Access for Minors

A bill reported out of a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday and expected to be voted on in the House tomorrow would make it a federal violation to transport a minor across a state line in order to obtain an abortion, if the state in which the minor resides has a law that requires parental involvement in the abortion decision. The bill does not forbid the minor to travel alone across state lines to obtain such an abortion, and it makes an exception for cases in which an abortion was necessary to save the life of the minor. The bill also requires any physician who expects to perform or induce an out-of-state abortion on a minor who is a resident of a state that has a parent notification law to make an effort to inform the parents at least 24 hours in advance of the procedure. The bill in the House is H.R. 748, introduced last February. A companion bill, S. 8, has been introduced but not yet acted on in the Senate. Bills can be tracked on website http://thomas.loc.gov.