Sen. Kathy Sgambati’s as drafted an “abortion notification bill,” as Tom Fahey of the Union Leader describes it in his State House Dome column. Fahey writes:
The state has had no parental notification law on abortions for minors since the Legislature repealed its flawed statute last year.
A new abortion notification bill would require a girl to talk with a guidance counselor or a health professional before obtaining an abortion. Parental involvement is preferred, but optional.
The bill, SB 527, sets a goal of "objective and comprehensive counseling to all minors who are seeking an abortion."
The bill by Democratic Sen. Kathy Sgambati requires a counselor to discuss "the possibility of involving the minor’s parents." But it adds "there are circumstances where the health and safety of a minor would be endangered by mandating parental involvement."It requires girls to get information about carrying a pregnancy to full term and adoption. The bill is not yet scheduled for a hearing.
Looking at the bill itself reveals some encouraging—if not exactly pro-life—language:
132:29 Statement of Intent. The intent of this subdivision is to:
I. Recognize that in most circumstances it is preferable for a minor to involve a parent in her decision about a pregnancy.
II. Encourage a minor who is seeking an abortion to consult with a parent in her decision making process.
III. Provide a framework that will foster parental involvement in a minor’s decision about her pregnancy.
IV. Recognize that the health and safety of a minor is of paramount concern.
V. Recognize that there are circumstances where the health and safety of a minor would be endangered by mandating parental involvement and to ensure the involvement of other responsible adults in these circumstances.
VI Provide objective and comprehensive counseling to all minors who are seeking an abortion.
Sen. Sgambati, a Democrat from Tilton, deserves credit for thinking seriously about the issue of abortion. Nevertheless, two things concern me about this measure.
First, this is not a parental notification bill in any sense of the word. It is a “guidance counselor notification” bill. A guidance counselor or a health professional will decide if a girl’s parents have a right to know about their daughter’s sex life and crisis situation. That’s distressing. Theoretically, the girl, her OB, the father, a guidance counselor, an abortionist and another health professional would know about the girl’s situation but her parents would be in the dark. Does that make sense?
Second, a minor who visits her guidance counselor and informs her that she is pregnant is telling an agent of the government that she has been raped. According to the law, minor girls who have had sex have been raped. There is no provision in this measure that would require the guidance counselor to inform the authorities about a rape case, possibly even a case of child molestation.
Kudos to Sen. Sgambati for putting forth a serious measure to deal with a serious problem. But she and her colleagues in the Senate should amend her bill to protect the rights of the parents and to empower law enforcers to go after the rapists and child molesters who are impregnating these young girls in the first place.