http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/28/AR2005042801943.htmlBush Backs Abortion Measure
He Urges Senate to Enact House Bill on Parental Notification
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 29, 2005; Page A04
President Bush is urging the Senate to take up a bill passed by the House this week that makes it a federal crime -- complete with possible fines and jail sentences -- for doctors or other adults to help patients under 18 evade parental-notification requirements by crossing state lines for an abortion.
Opponents call it "the grandmother incarceration act" for the penalties that could be imposed on non-parents who travel with minors to end a pregnancy. But conservative groups say the measure is a way to ensure that the will of state legislatures is carried out, because it is now possible for a young woman to travel from one state to another with less restrictive laws to avoid having to tell a parent she plans to have an abortion.
...House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) said during the floor debate that the bill is "vital to parental rights."
Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council and father of three daughters, said in an interview that the bill was one of his group's top priorities for the year and called it "a recognition of parental authority."
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, countered that the bill is "a bureaucratic nightmare" and is part of a multi-track strategy by conservatives that includes packing the judiciary with judges sympathetic to their views.......