Government Leaders on Abortion

ENSIGN INTRODUCES CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION ACT

Thursday, April 10, 2003

Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today introduced legislation that will make it a federal offense to take a child across state lines for the purpose of having an abortion. The Child Custody Protection Act is designed to end the practice of circumventing state laws by transporting a minor to another state without parental consent or notification.

“Children can’t go on a field trip or be given an aspirin in school without written permission from their parents, but nothing prevents them from being taken across state lines for an abortion without their parents’ knowledge or consent,” Ensign said. “That’s a situation that must change, and this legislation will accomplish that.”

The goal of the Child Custody Protection Act is to strengthen existing state laws designed to protect young girls from the health risks associated with abortion. The law will not, in any way, override or supercede parental involvement laws previously enacted by states.

“Hopefully, this bill will help encourage parental involvement in the decision as to whether or not to have an abortion by making it harder to evade the law by running to another state,” Ensign said. “It is a common-sense solution to a serious and complex problem in this country.”

In introducing the Child Custody Protection Act on the floor of the United States Senate, Ensign thanked the bill’s 22 original cosponsors.

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