By Laurie Kellman, Associated Press - April 27, 2005

Washington - The House passed a bill Wednesday that would make it illegal to dodge parental-consent laws by taking minors across state lines for abortions, the latest effort to chip away at abortion rights after Republican gains in the November elections.

By 270-157, the House sent the bill to the Senate, where it has new momentum as an item on the Republicans' top 10 list of legislative priorities. Voting for it were 216 Republicans and 54 Democrats. Voting against it were 145 Democrats, 11 Republicans and 1 Independent.

Reflecting rising public support for requiring parents' involvement in their pregnant daughters' decisions, the bill would impose fines, jail time or both on adults and doctors involved in most cases where minors were taken out of state to get abortions.

This was the third time since 1998 the House has approved the measure, sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (news, bio, voting record), R-Fla. The Senate has never taken it up and no vote has been set, but Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has pledged to bring it up for a vote this summer.

In another sign of the measure's new support, Democratic Rep. William Clay of Missouri, who staunchly favors abortion rights and voted against the measure in the past, voted for it on Wednesday. Clay said he switched in response to an outpouring of support for the bill from constituents in his St. Louis district.

"This bill simply says that a parent has a right to know if their child is having surgery," Clay said.

If passed by the Senate and signed by the president, the bill would represent the fifth measure since President Bush took office in 2001 aimed at reducing the number of abortions.

Senate abortion opponents prevailed last month in preventing Democrats from restricting the rights of abortion clinic protesters in bankruptcy court.

Tempers flared in the House even before the emotional floor debate.

Democrats complained that their efforts to soften the bill, for example, by exempting from prosecution adult siblings and grandparents who help pregnant minors, were described in the GOP-authored committee report as efforts to protect "sexual predators."

Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who authored the panel's report, defended its language, saying the Democratic amendments would not have specifically excluded child molesters from protections.

"Perhaps these amendments were not properly drafted by the authors when they were submitted in the committee," Sensenbrenner told the House. "That's not the fault of the majority, that's the fault of the people who drafted the amendment."

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., called the report by Sensenbrenner's committee "a rape of the rules of this House."

"Would it be fair for an official report of this committee to call this entire bill the 'Rapists and Sexual Predators Right to Sue Act?'" Nadler asked rhetorically.

Last year, Congress made it a separate crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a pregnant woman. It also decided to deny federal funds to state and local agencies that act against health care providers and insurers because they don't provide or pay for abortions.

In 2003 it outlawed what critics call partial birth abortions, generally carried out in the second or third trimester, in which a fetus is partially delivered before being aborted. A year earlier, lawmakers amended the legal definitions for person, human being, child and individual to include any fetus that survives an abortion procedure.

The bill defines a minor as anyone "not older than" 18. More than 30 states have parental notification or consent laws.

The measure provides certain exceptions to a mandatory waiting period and punishments, such as when the abortion would save the life of the mother. Also excepted are any physician presented with documentation showing that a court in the minor's home state waived any parental notification requirements. In addition the bill makes an exception for minors who have signed a written statement saying that she is a victim of sexual abuse by a parent and can back it up with documentation of having reported that abuse to a state authority.

The House rejected two Democratic amendments that would have added immunity from prosecution and civil suits confidants of the minor who help transport her - such as grandparents and clergy - and others involved in the violation, such as taxicab and bus drivers.

Opponents say any gains the bill might make would be dwarfed by health, abuse and legal problems that pregnant girls and their well-meaning confidants might suffer.

Bebe J. Anderson, a lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said it would produce "a confusing maze of requirements ... designed to isolate some teens and leave others with no safe options.".

"No matter how few people it affects, it's an important bill on the principles," said Frist, a Tennessee Republican who is looking at seeking his party's presidential nomination in 2008.

Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay of St. Louis, who staunchly favors abortion rights and voted against the measure in the past, voted yes on Wednesday (see story above). Clay said he switched in response to an outpouring of support for the bill from constituents in his district.

"This bill simply says that a parent has a right to know if their child is having surgery," Clay said.

How they all voted:

In the 270-157 roll call April 27, 2005 by which the House passed a bill that would outlaw taking a minor across state lines for an abortion without parental consent, a "yes" vote is a vote to pass the bill.

• Missouri Democrats: Carnahan, no; Clay, yes; Cleaver, no; Skelton, yes.
• Missouri Republicans: Akin, yes; Blunt, yes; Emerson, yes; Graves, yes; Hulshof, yes.
• Kansas Democrat: Moore, no.
• Kansas Republicans: Moran, yes; Ryun, yes; Tiahrt, yes.

From Carolyn Sullivan, Executive Director - NARAL Pro-choice Missouri:

"There are few states in this nation where the women are more in need of resources devoted to fighting the local anti-choice politics than Missouri. The Missouri General Assembly is nearly 80% anti-choice. Governor Blunt, who as a legislator voted against a rape and incest exception for women, is poised to sign any of the anti-choice bills that reach his desk."

"Senate Bill 2 - has passed the Senate and is in the House; if we cannot stop this bill, it will soon be on his desk."

"If this bill becomes law, women will have lost more than reproductive rights in a single bill than ever before in Missouri history."

"Senate Bill 2 is a 16 page omnibus bill which is loaded up with every imaginable restriction on a woman's right to choose. Governor Blunt identified this bill as one of his top priorities in his state-of-the state address last January. This bill will make safe and legal abortions nearly completely inaccessible in Missouri by closing clinics that provide abortions, as well as family planning services."

It endangers the health and lives of women by restricting access to information and services:

• Senate Bill 2 does not provide for the protection of the life of the mother
• Senate Bill 2 forces the abandonment of pregnant teens by imposing civil liability on anyone causing, aiding or assisting them to obtain an abortion without parental consent;
• Senate Bill 2 prohibits doctors, nurses and other professionals from providing women with complete information about their health care options, including reproductive matters like abortion.

STOP THE GOP CHEATERS!

George W. Bush and his Republican cronies know that they could never push through their radical agenda by playing fairly. That's why, since hijacking the 2000 presidential election, Bush and the GOP have been bending and breaking rules with appalling regularity.

• Circumventing the U.S. Senate's constitutional role in judicial confirmations -- through backdoor "recess" appointments of rejected nominees and the GOP's new "nuclear option," which would eliminate the filibuster as a tool to block the confirmation of anti-choice extremist judges.
• Trying to steal Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire's election victory -- by filing a meritless legal challenge to her certified hand-recount win, a victory that was achieved with considerable help from EMILY's List.
• Gutting ethics rules to protect House Majority Leader Tom Delay -- by changing House rules to allow DeLay to hold onto his leadership post if indicted, and by making it almost impossible for the House Ethics Committee to launch an investigation into his shady dealings.
• Breaking the promise of affordable prescription drugs -- by passing a Medicare prescription drug program that enriches the pharmaceutical industry at taxpayers' expense, while doing nothing substantive to make prescription drugs more affordable.
• Trying to take the "security" out of Social Security -- with a risky privatization scheme that would slash guaranteed benefits and gamble seniors' retirement security on the ups and downs of the stock market.
• Restricting voting rights -- through blatant gerrymandering of congressional districts in Texas and Georgia, a transparent plot to dilute the voting rights of minority voters and pad the Republican majority in Congress.
• Violating women's medical privacy -- with Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline's demand to see the medical records of women who have had abortions. Kline claims he needs the records to help uncover criminal activity at women's clinics.

From International Planned Parenthood Federation:

With the recent death of deeply conservative Pope John Paul II, many Catholics hoped the Church would choose a new leader with more progressive views on sexual and reproductive health issues.

Unfortunately, the new Pope, Benedict XVI, is even more conservative about sexuality and reproductive freedom than his predecessor!

Despite his poor track record on these issues as a Cardinal, we are hopeful that the Pope will realize that his new responsibilities require him to take a more worldly view in order to bring about positive change in the modern world. We are encouraged by the fact that the new Pope recently talked about both modernizing the Church and beginning a better dialogue with Islam.

Please write a letter to the editor encouraging Pope Benedict XVI to reconsider his dangerously outdated stances on birth control, abortion and sexuality in order to help move the Catholic Church into the 21st century.

To give you a bit more background, Pope Benedict XVI (a German Cardinal formerly known as Josef Ratzinger) is against all forms of contraception and opposes the use of condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS. During the 2004 Presidential election, he told Catholics in the U.S. it would be a sin to vote for pro-choice candidates like John Kerry, and urged bishops to deny Kerry Communion. He has also led the Catholic Church's campaign against same-sex marriage and other rights for same-sex couples, including the right to adopt children.

Whether or not you're a Catholic, the Church has tremendous influence over many governments, especially in Latin America, and plays a powerful role in shaping social and political norms around the world.

The new Pope's positions on these crucial issues pose a terrible danger to the health of millions of women and girls around the world and undermines efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Please join us in encouraging him to reconsider these backward views with a well-written, timely letter to the editor of your paper.

With so much at stake, Hillary is speaking out, and working with her Democratic colleagues:

Last week, she met with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Senators Debbie Stabenow (MI), Carl Levin (MI) and Jay Rockefeller (WV) to highlight the deep Medicaid cuts approved by the Republican House - cuts that would force states to choose between funding schools and funding hospitals. "The fight is far from over," Hillary said. "It is unconscionable to balance the budget on the backs of the vulnerable."

In honor of Equal Pay Day, on April 19, Hillary and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT) announced that they were introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act to strengthen equal pay laws and address the pay gap between men and women. "Equality works for all of us. Now is the time to make sure that we all work for equality," Hillary said.

This Monday, Hillary went to Wall Street with Senators Chuck Schumer (NY) and Ron Wyden (OR) to join members of the financial services industry in explaining the financial risks for individual Americans if Bush's privatization scheme succeeds. Hillary said, "As President Bush attempts to sell his plan to undermine Social Security, we are joined today by financial leaders who aren't buying it. ...They are joining the growing chorus of voices warning that privatizing Social Security is a bad deal for America's families."

And Hillary is speaking out against the "nuclear option," the Republicans' attempt to change the Senate rules by breaking them, in order to eliminate checks and balances and gain more power:

If invoked, the "nuclear option" would be, in my view, one of the most egregious abuses of power that the Senate has experienced in its history. ...[T]he majority seeks to turn the United States Senate into a rubber stamp for President Bush's extreme judicial nominees and force all Senators to abdicate our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent. As one sworn to uphold the Constitution, that is something that I cannot do and will not do and that is why I will continue to do all I can to fight for our democratic principles.

...President Bush has nominated a few people to serve on our federal courts for life that I and many of my colleagues believe would not abide by the rule of law, which is why some of these nominees were not confirmed. Now, to stack the courts with these nominees and other extreme judges, the majority is attempting to violate long-established and agreed to Senate rules in order to do away with a constitutional check on the power of the President to pick any judicial nominees he pleases. This is wrong and inconsistent with American values. ...I will do all that I can to ensure that this does not happen.

Galloping GOP?

Ex-Reagan aide Lyn Nofziger: "The Democrats may well be the minority party in Congress and in the country but regardless, just about everywhere one looks they have Republicans on the run."

Citing the troubles with Tom DeLay, John Bolton and Bush's Social Security plans, he writes: "Too many Republicans in the House and Senate are afflicted with one or both of two problems. Either they don't believe in much of anything or they are afraid to fight for what they do believe in. Makes one wonder sometimes why one should bother being a Republican, doesn't it?"

The Buzz - Wed April 27, Kansas City Star

STILL STANDING UP FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH

The Women's Vote Center celebrates the year anniversary of the March for Women's Lives with a salute to those fighting in every community for women's health - YOU!

One year ago this week on April 24, 2004, over one million of you came to Washington, DC to March for Women's Lives. And the Democratic National Committee was proud to carry the names of the 15,000 women and men who signed up as virtual marchers in our delegation. The need to focus on women's health continues - in your State Legislature, County Commission, City Council and, yes, in Congress.

This week, we ask you to rededicate yourself to fight for quality women's health - through protection of Medicaid funding, fair and equitable women's health research, sexual education that is medically accurate, efforts to end violence against women and supporting the right to make personal and private reproductive choices with the health care provider of your choice.

DEMOCRATS TAKING THE LEAD

Governor Christine Gregoire was sworn in months ago in Washington State-- the Republican Secretary of State certified her victory, and she's been governing for over 100 days. Her race was close -- that's why, immediately after the election, an initial machine recount was conducted. Then, even though the Washington State Democratic Party had to pay for it (which they did with your help), a hand recount was conducted to make sure that every legal vote was protected and counted.

But guess what -- the Republican who lost the election still won't admit defeat. He's struggling to seize power and stay in the headlines by holding press conferences, running ads and filing junk lawsuits. He has even publicly released lists of people he thinks shouldn't have been allowed to vote and accused others of being convicted felons -- only to find that his lists contained registered, legal voters every time.

We're proud of Christine Gregoire, the former Attorney General and now one of six Democratic women Governors in the country. Let's join with the Democratic activists in Washington who continue daily work to beat back this assault on their elected governor. No one anticipated the Republicans would lose the election and mount a reckless and absurd campaign for months after the election.

Hanaway, 41, got her law degree from Catholic University of America, in Washington. She served in the state House from 1998 through last January. She became speaker in 2003, and was the first woman to hold the post. She was the losing Republican nominee for Missouri secretary of state last November.