Posted on 04/27/2005 8:43:49 PM PDT by NormB
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 the policy has new momentum as an item on the Republicans' top 10 list of legislative priorities.
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. In a statement, President Bush praised the House for passing the measure. "The parents of pregnant minors can provide counsel, guidance and support to their children and should be involved in these decisions," Bush said. "I urge the Senate to pass this important legislation and help continue to build a culture of life in America."
This was the third time since 1998 the House has approved such a 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., expects to bring up a similar measure this summer, according to spokeswoman Amy Call.
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.
Voting for it were 216 Republicans and 54 Democrats. Voting against it were 145 Democrats, 11 Republicans and 1 Independent.
If passed by the Senate and signed by the president, the policy would represent the fifth measure since 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."
Aha, there's the rub.
Well at least the House had the nads to actually try something and get it passed.
The Senate will gut it, though. That's their job, to maintain the status quo... and let it slide a little more left every term (even when the GOP get elected).
A liberal wants to be able to misbehave however she wants and not be judged, and - more importantly - someone else should have to pay the economic consequence if she can't. Specifically, someone who lives responsibly and works and pays taxes (you and me).
Consider that very generally, FR is largely made of parent-type individuals who directly support the life and welfare of your average DU member, who is off living at college by daddy's graces and makes it their hobby to advocate for their social views by our downfall.
It's a glaring irony that capitalist parents often produce spoiled communist children. And I do mean children.
Well, economic consequences aside, what is the political motivation?
I understand the lazyness motivation and the inconvienience of not killing our children, it is the political motivation I am trying to understand.
I know that planned parenthood was founded on NAZI principals, do you think there are similarities?
Pope John Paul said it best: Liberalism is a Culture of Death. Rush played Michael Schiavo's lawyer's ghoulish rhapsodic description of Terry's "death process" - candles, music and all. THESE PEOPLE ARE IN LOVE WITH DEATH!!
The political motivation is sexually-based as I implied. They want free sex, with no moral judgements and no lasting effects. (Their worst fears are exemplified on ABC's 'Desperate Housewives'.)
I don't think they are playing for mere strategy by supporting abortion, in fact it's more of a challenge to sell their position, since it is so obviously revolting to kill a baby. Their position is ideology-based, precisely for the social and psychological needs they enjoy (sexual satisfaction, and economic freedom from their own bad choices).
I'm all about hyperbole, so let me just say it... The premise and justification of abortion is that women are weak sluts who can't control themselves. They know this, and they mask it as something natural, and that sex is something personal and private, so therefore their favored social structure of abortion-on-demand, marrying late (if ever), and having as few kids as possible (ALWAYS at others' expense) is legitimate in their minds, since "men don't know what women go through!"
That's as much as one can say, and I don't think it's any more complicated than that.
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