Fw: now-action-list Urgent: Bill Threatens Safety of YoungWomen (fwd)

Sat Jun 20 09:50:41 CDT 1998

Silly me - i thought this had something to do with civil rights.

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> From: Brendan R Delaney <brdst11+ at PITT.EDU>
> To: EDEBATE at LIST.UVM.EDU
> Subject: Re: Fw: now-action-list Urgent: Bill Threatens Safety of
YoungWomen              (fwd)
> Date: Saturday, June 20, 1998 3:33 AM
>
> I'd prefer to see Edebate kept propaganda-less, or at least see that
posts
> have some relationship to debate....If I wanted on the now list, I can
> subscribe myself...
>
>
>
>
>
> Brendan
>
>
>
>
> "I fear that I shall journey alone, that the way will be dark; I fear the
> unknown land, the presence of my King and the sentence of my judge."
>
>
> --The dying words of St. Brendan
>
>
> On Fri, 19 Jun 1998, Tracy Gonos and Paul Hayes wrote:
>
> > Thought this would be of interest to many on the listserv.
> >
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 16:15:06 -0400
> > From: National Organization for Women <now at now.org>
> > To: now-action-list at now.org
> > Subject: now-action-list Urgent: Bill Threatens Safety of Young Women
> >
> > Feel free to forward the following to activists in its entirety or with
> > proper attribution:
> >
> > >From the National Organization for Women Action Center:
> >
> > URGENT ACTION ALERT
> > June 11, 1998
> > BILL THREATENS THE SAFETY OF YOUNG WOMEN
> >
> > PROBLEM:
> >
> > Very shortly, Congress will vote on a bill (S.1645/H.R. 3682) that
would
> > make it a federal crime for anyone to transport a minor across state
lines
> > for an abortion, unless the young woman already satisfied the
requirements
> > of her home state's parental notification and involvement laws.  This
bill,
> > proposed by Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI), would not only deny young
women
> > help from adults they trust but could also endanger their health and
> > violate the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
> >
> > IMPORTANT:
> >
> > This legislation, known as the Child Custody Protection Act or --  as a
New
> > York Times editorial termed it -- the Teen Endangerment Act, would
allow
> > for the prosecution and jailing of grandparents, aunts, uncles,
ministers,
> > close friends, siblings and de facto or temporary guardians who
transport a
> > minor across state lines to obtain an abortion.  According to this
bill,
> > adults who aid these young women in their time of crisis would be
guilty of
> > a federal crime and, if convicted, fined or jailed for a year!
> >
> > It is unlikely that the Teen Endangerment Act would encourage more
positive
> > parental involvement in a young woman's decision to obtain an abortion.
 In
> > most cases, young women (nearly 61%) consult with their parents
regarding
> > their decision to obtain an abortion, regardless of whether they are
> > required by law to have such a discussion.  Of those who do not talk
about
> > their choice with their parents, many fear abusive repercussions.  This
> > bill will not compel young women who do not already consult their
parents
> > to do so.  Instead, minors pursue other options, including: going out
of
> > state alone to abort, delaying the procedure or obtaining an illegal
and
> > unsafe abortion.
> >
> > BACKGROUND:
> >
> > In promoting this restrictive legislation, abortion opponents have
cited  a
> > 1995 case in upstate Pennsylvania as an illustration of why such a bill
is
> > needed.  In this case, a woman transported a 13-year-old girl to
> > Binghamton, New York for an abortion.  The girl's boyfriend was the
woman's
> > 19 year-old stepson, who later accepted a guilty plea to statutory
rape.
> > Although, this incident was regrettable because of the tender ages of
the
> > couple, the Child Custody Protection Act, if it had been law at the
time,
> > would have not provided any good solutions.
> >
> > The bill seeks to protect the safety of minors; it instead causes them
> > undue harm by endangering their health and interfering with their
> > constitutional right to an abortion.  We know from the Becky Bell case
that
> > young women have lost their lives because of a reluctance to tell their
> > parents. The Indiana teen was 17 when she discovered she was pregnant.
The
> > parental notification law in that state required her to tell her
parents
> > which she felt she could not. Becky also believed that consulting with
a
> > judge, under the state's judicial bypass provision, was not an option
for
> > her, either.  Becky Bell resorted to an unsafe
> > back alley' abortion which
> > resulted in the her tragic death due to uncontrolled hemorrhaging.
> >
> > Twenty-two states have laws requiring teens to notify their parents (or
> > consult a judge) before getting an abortion. Consequently, teen-agers
who
> > believe that they can't tell their parents now cross state lines to
obtain
> > an abortion. Any adult who assists them --  grandparents, counselors,
> > religious advisors, and even single parents, in some cases  -- will
face
> > going to jail for this caring effort!
> >
> > How you can help:
> > Please call your U.S. Representative as soon as possible and ask him or
her
> > to vote against the Child Custody Protection Act (H.R. 3682/S. 1645).
A
> > House Judiciary Subcommittee is completing work on the legislation
> > Thursday, June 11th, and the full committee is expected to take it up
soon.
> > The schedule for the bill in the Senate has not been announced, but
will
> > probably begin in July. The anti-abortion majority leadership in
Congress
> > has vowed to have this bill on the President's desk by the August
recess..
> > In addition to the fast track in Congress for the legislation,
President
> > Clinton has been reticent to disclose his position on the Child Custody
> > Protection Act.  Activists should call the White House and ask the
> > President to oppose this legislation..  You can refer to it as the Teen
> > Endangerment Act, if you like, since that seems more appropriate.
> >
> > MESSAGE:
> >
> > The Child Custody Protection Act endangers the health of young women
and is
> > unconstitutional. It should be defeated.  President Clinton (
> > mailto:president at whitehouse.gov ) needs to let Congress know that he
will
> > veto this terrible bill. The main number for Congress is (202)
224-3121,
> > and the operator will connect you with your U.S. Representative. The
White
> > House comment line is (202) 456-1111. Connect to
> > http://www.visi.com/juan/congress for congressional fax, phone and
email
> > addresses.
> >
> > =============================================================
> > See http://www.now.org/conference for information about the 1998 NOW
> > Women's Rights Convention and Vision Summit
> >
> >
> > ==================================================
> > now at now.org
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> >