Teen Endangerment Act


Dear Honorable Rep. or Senator _______, I urge you to oppose the Teen Endangerment Act (H.R. 476) as it would allow for federal prosecution of anyone - including a friend, sister, or grandparent - who transports a minor across state lines for an abortion, unless the young woman has already met the obligation of her state's parental involvement law. This legislation would put young women who are already facing the crisis of an unintended pregnancy in the position of having to travel alone or perform dangerous and desperate acts because of a lack of safe and legal alternatives.

Family communication simply cannot be legislated. H.R. 476 will not increase parental involvement in the abortion decisions of young women. While most young women already choose to involve a parent in this important decision, others have very good reasons for choosing not to involve their parents. Past experience shows us that forcing a young woman to notify an abusive parent of a pregnancy can have dangerous, and even fatal, consequences. Please protect the well-being of young women in crisis, and do not criminalize the actions of caring adults concerned with the young woman's best interests. I look forward to hearing your thoughts regarding this.

Sincerely,

(Student)

Willamette University
900 State ST.
Salem, OR 97301




Some reasons why the Teen Endangerment Act is a horrible idea:

* Government cannot mandate open family communication where it does not exist. Many young women in troubled families cannot tell their parents about a crisis pregnancy without fearing for their lives. In Idaho, a man shot and killed his 13-year-old daughter when she told him she was going to abort the fetus he "fathered." When a young woman cannot involve a parent in an abortion decision - because of incest or any other reason - government policy should encourage her to consult a trusted adult.

* Teenage girls with healthy relationships with their parents die as a result of mandatory parental involvement and notification laws. In 1988,

17-year-old Becky Bell of Indiana died after a "back alley" abortion because she could not obtain a safe, legal one without informing her parents - she didn't want to tell her parents she was pregnant for fear of disappointing them. Major medical associations including the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association oppose mandatory parental involvement laws precisely because of these dangers.

* People in the U.S. have the right to exercise their constitutional rights in all states, not just in their home state. If passed into law, this bill would raise serious federalism issues - not unlike making it a federal crime for residents of states that prohibit gambling to go on a gambling vacation to Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

* The bill will not encourage young women to consult their parents about an abortion decision. Studies show that teenagers talk to their parents about a crisis pregnancy at the same rate in states with and without parental involvement laws. If a girl decides she cannot talk to a parent, legislation like this will not change her mind. The bill would only prevent young women from seeking guidance from trusted adults, including religious counselors, medical providers and other adult family members.

The Teen Endangerment Act (H.R. 476) would criminalize anyone other than a parent who accompanies a minor across state lines for an abortion if she has not complied with her home state's parental consent or notification law. A grandmother, older sister or religious counselor could face a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted of taking a teen to another state for an abortion.

The bill's Republican sponsors claim it would increase parents' involvement in their daughter's abortion decisions. In reality, this bill is yet another attempt by the Bush administration and anti-abortion forces to criminalize abortion. The bill ignores the many young women in abusive families who simply cannot talk to their parents about a pregnancy. In fact, House Republicans are so callous to the needs of pregnant teens that, in a parliamentary maneuver, they prevented Democrats from even voting on amendments to the bill that would exempt girls who are pregnant as a result of incest. And they didn't think about the fact that if a teenage girl feels she has no one to whom she can turn, she may take matters into her own hands - with lethal results.


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