catholicsphere

Ya think?!

An article in yesterday’s Chicago Sun-Times, strangely titled “Taking girl for abortion could make you a criminal”, reports on the vote in the House of Representatives on Tuesday that would make it a crime nationally to take a minor out of state to get around parental notification laws.

There is something strange, too, about the logic of the opponents of this bill. “Democratic opponents foresaw the arrests of grandmothers and religious counselors trying to shield girls from abusive parents.” Such is an emotional plea, rooted in what potentially could be an extremely rare case. Note the usage of “grandmothers” in the statement.

The law would basically do the following:

The person transporting the minor across state lines would be subject to a $100,000 fine or one year in jail or both. About half the states have some kind of parental involvement law.

In the debate, there is often a failure to grasp the fact that regardless of parenting choices, minors cannot make certain legal choices for themselves (unless they are legally emancipated). A minor cannot get a tattoo, ear piercing or have surgery performed without parental consent. Yet, some states have enacted laws that allow a minor to make an irreversable decision to abort their baby, without parental consent. It doesn’t make sense!

[tags]abortion, consent, congress, minor, crime, law, news, current events[/tags]