[NOW Action List] Stop Teen Endangerment Act

Support NOW's Work |	July 20, 2006	| Tell a Friend

Action Needed Background All NOW Actions More about Reproductive Rights		Oppose the Teen Endangerment Act; Senate to Vote Very Soon Action Needed: Please call or email your senator as soon as you receive this message. The so-called Child Custody Protection Act or as we more correctly refer to it: The Teen Endangerment Act may be voted on by the Senate as soon as tomorrow. The House has already passed their version (H.R. 748). The current version restricts a young woman's ability to obtain an abortion outside of the home state even if the closest city is across state lines. In addition, it does not allow for an exception necessary to protect health, requires a 24-hour to 72-hour waiting period in many cases and imposes criminal penalties for any adults accompanying a young woman across a state line to obtain an abortion unless she has met her home state's parental involvement laws. We must let senators know that this is an ill-advised and dangerous bill designed to prevent young women from seeking a legal medical procedure in an accessible and affordable location, especially if her own state has designed insurmountable barriers to her reproductive health care. Please make that call now or email your message. Take Action Now! Background: The Teen Endangerment Act will impose a mandatory parental notification and delay requirement on young women who need abortion services outside of their home state. It will also make it a federal crime to assist young women who cross state lines to obtain an abortion -- making criminals of friends and family members who help teens unable to involve a parent in their decision. The law will subject young women, abortion providers, and others who assist the women to a confusing maze of overlapping and conflicting state and federal laws, which will make it more difficult and more dangerous for young women to obtain abortions. The Teen Endangerment Act (S. 403) does not protect teens; instead it harms young women who face unwanted pregnancies. It criminalizes family members and friends for trying to help. It serves no health purpose. In fact, because it provides no exceptions even when a teen's health is in danger, it jeopardizes young women's health. In all of these ways, the Teen Endangerment Act endangers young women who face unwanted pregnancies. In many instances, it will actually interfere with how parents choose to raise their children. It also violates basic constitutional principles of federalism, reproductive rights, due process, equal protection and the right to travel. Take Action Now!
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