Jon Kyl: “as a cosponsor of the Child Custody Protection Act, I am pleased to see that this legislation is finally being…”

“as a cosponsor of the Child Custody Protection Act, I am pleased to see that this legislation is finally being considered and hopeful that it will be passed quickly. S. 403 makes subject to fines or imprisonment up to 1 year anyone who ``knowingly transports a minor across a State line, with the intent that such minor obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the right of a parent under a law requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision, in force in the State where the minor resides.'' The provision I cite is an admirably clear piece of legislative language. It not only makes a salutary change in existing law; it provides an convincing explanation as to why it is needed. Notwithstanding the abortion debate's notoriously divisive character, parental involvement statutes constitute an area of near-consensus around which pro-life and pro-choice Americans can come together. Forty-five States--including my own--have enacted statutes aimed at ensuring that parents of minor girls are not deprived of the opportunity involved in this most sensitive decision, one with profound implications for their daughters' physical and mental health. Public opinion polls demonstrate overwhelming support for the proposition that in all but the most extraordinary circumstances--in which instances, the State statutes in question provide for a judicial bypass--parents must be involved in decisions affecting the health of their minor children.…”