New Act Prohibits Minors Traveling for Abortions
New Act Prohibits Minors Traveling for Abortions
Teens crossing state lines to get an abortion are the target of a new bill introduced today. The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) looks fairly comprehensive and serious so far, though full text of the bill (S.1241) has not yet been released. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), however, did provide a joint press release that outlined the bill’s main points. To summarize, the bill would:
—“prohibit… knowingly taking a minor across state lines with the intent of obtaining an abortion if this action evades the parental notification law in her home state.” This could significantly increase the cost of travel for teens seeking an abortion. If a girl lived near a state border, she would be forced to seek an abortion in her state, even if there was a major city just on the other side of the river. In some states without much abortion access, this could be a real hardship.
—“would require abortion providers to notify a parent of an out-of-state minor before performing an abortion.” Again, this could cause hardship on the girl getting an abortion because of the time involved for the provider to find and contact her parent. Also, what if the teen had a judicial bypass in her home state? Would it be honored?
—“CIANA allows for punishment, in the form of fines or imprisonment, of physicians who knowingly perform an abortion on a minor who has traveled across state lines…” As RH Reality Check points out, this bill could make providers more leery of performing abortions on girls at all. And it makes it in the best interests of the girl to lie about her residency or about the circumstances of her pregnancy.
Because more teen mothers is exactly what this country needs. Thanks, Senators Hatch and Rubio!
What if the teen was raped by their father or another family member/guardian? What if there is abuse [besides rape] happening? You are not going to tell your parents/guardians or want to tell them that you’re having an abortion. What if you are just scared of telling your overtly pro-life parents you are having an abortion? Why the fuck can’t teens have their right to privacy you douchefucks?
Ugh the short sightedness of shit like this REALLY pisses me off. Quite aside from kids in non-abusive homes where there could still be major shaming and general trouble associated with getting an abortion, INCEST VICTIMS EXIST - as well as kids in homes with parents who would react violently or with major emotional abuse if they found out their child was sexually active. The people making these laws have NO interest in protecting minors from the ‘perils’ of abortion - they have no interest in protecting minors from anything (let alone protecting babies from being born into terrible domestic situations). They just want to control the bodies of more uterus-owners, and they are willing to put said uterus-owners in real physical danger to do so. It’s completely sick.
(via lipstick-feminists)
