U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) is co-sponsoring federal legislation to uphold state parental involvement in abortion laws when their minor child is receiving an abortion across state lines from the minor’s state of residence.
“The extreme abortion expansion laws pushed by Governor Pritzker and Illinois Democrats are a disgrace,” said Rep. Davis. “By repealing the PNA law, Illinois is now far outside the mainstream of most states. I am proudly pro-Life and strongly support the rights of parents to be involved in their children’s lives. This legislation I’m supporting would make sure that when a minor crosses state lines into Illinois to receive an abortion, their home state’s parental involvement in abortion laws are upheld. This is a small step we can take to protect Life and ensure parents can be there for their children during an incredibly difficult moment in their life.”
H.R. 2223, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, would make it a crime to knowingly transport a minor across a state line to obtain an abortion without satisfying the requirements of a parental involvement law in the minor’s resident state. A parental involvement law requires parental consent or notification, or judicial authorization, for a minor to obtain an abortion. The legislation also makes it a crime for a physician to knowingly perform or induce an abortion on an out-of-state minor without first notifying the minor’s parent.
In 2021, Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly and Governor J.B. Pritzker repealed one of Illinois’ last pro-Life laws, the Parental Notification of Abortion (PNA) Act.
From a December 17, 2021, Capitol News Illinois story on the repeal of PNA in Illinois:
“Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law on Friday that ends parental notification, a requirement that doctors notify the parents of a minor seeking an abortion.
“…A 1995 law required doctors to notify a pregnant minor’s parent within 48 hours before an abortion procedure, but it did not take effect until 2013 due to litigation. An exception could be made if the minor was a victim of physical or sexual abuse or neglect by an adult family member, if the minor was emancipated or married, if a medical provider determined there was a medical emergency, or if an adult family member waived the notice in writing. A judge could also waive the requirement.
“Supporters of the 1995 law argued that parents deserve to be informed of medical procedures performed on their children.
“… Nearly 1,100 Illinois minors had abortions in 2018, according the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website.
“The repeal of parental notification is scheduled to go into effect on June 1, 2022.”
Illinois is far outside the mainstream of parental involvement in abortion regulations in the United States. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 37 states require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion.
Governor Pritzker is making good on his efforts to make Illinois an abortion destination state nationwide. A Chicago Tribune story from earlier this year stated, “Nearly 10,000 women traveled from out of state to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020, a roughly 29% increase compared with the previous year, according to the most recent Illinois Department of Public Health data available.” In 2019, Pritzker signed legislation making abortion a “fundamental right” in Illinois, repealing restrictions on late-term abortion and expanding taxpayer-funding of abortion.
Original source can be found here.