http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072501197_pf.htmlInterstate Abortion Bill Clears Senate
Minors Would Need Parents' Permission
By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 26, 2006; A01
The Senate voted yesterday to make it a crime to take a pregnant minor to another state to obtain an abortion without her parents' knowledge, handing a long-sought victory to the Bush administration and abortion opponents.
The bill would help about three dozen states enforce laws that require minors to notify or obtain the consent of their parents before having an abortion. It would bar people -- including clergy members and grandparents -- from helping a girl cross state lines to avoid parental-involvement laws. Violations could result in a year in prison....Most states have passed such laws, but courts have invalidated at least nine of them, advocacy groups say. Maryland and Virginia have parental-notification laws; the District does not. The Senate voted 65 to 34 to approve the bill, which is similar to one the House has approved before, including last year.
....
The administration urged House and Senate negotiators to reconcile their differences and send Bush a bill to sign. Unlike the Senate version, the House measure would penalize physicians who knowingly perform abortions for minors who circumvented parental-involvement laws...Fifty-one Republicans and 14 Democrats voted for the bill, while four Republicans, 29 Democrats and one independent voted against it. Sens. George Allen (R-Va.) and John W. Warner (R-Va.) voted for the measure; Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) voted against it.
The bill would not penalize a minor, or her parents, for crossing state lines to obtain an abortion.
PATRIARCHY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN CONGRESS.
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