Harsh Restrictions on Young Women's Access to Abortion Stymied in Senate

October 1, 2006

Failing in a last-minute effort to increase abortion restrictions before Congress leaves Washington, D.C., to campaign, Republicans were unable to force a vote on a bill that would deprive young women of family support, threaten their friends and relatives with jail time, and restrict their access to abortion services.

The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), which is more accurately called the Teen Endangerment Act, would restrict young women's ability to access abortion services, and provides only meager exceptions to protect the young woman's health. Previously passed by the House of Representatives, when the cloture vote came up at 10pm Friday night, Senate leaders were unable to achieve the 60 yes votes necessary to end debate and force a vote on the bill.

"Only 13 percent of U.S. counties have any abortion provider at all, so for many women the closest clinic is in a neighboring state. This bill would have forced many young women into either unwilling motherhood or an unsafe, illegal abortion," said NOW President Kim Gandy.

"But they really don't care about real women's lives. The Republican leadership was determined to trade off the rights of young women for a few Brownie points with their right-wing base, just before the elections. No doubt they will be back."

The Teen Endangerment Act would have imposed mandatory parental notification and delay requirements on young women who need abortion services outside of their home state; make it a federal crime even for an aunt or grandmother to accompany a young woman across state lines to obtain an abortion, thus making criminals of trusted friends and family members who help teens unable to involve a parent in their decision; and will subject young women, abortion providers, and others 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.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906

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