US House lawmakers introduce bill to prohibit trafficking minors for abortions

Lawmakers in Congress have introduced a bill to prohibit bringing a minor across state lines to undergo an abortion without notifying her parents.

Key Takeaways:

• Three members of Congress introduced the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act to prohibit states without a parental notification law from committing abortions on minors from out of state.

• The bill would also require that abortionists notify parents of a minor’s request for abortion at least 24 hours before committing an abortion on a minor from out of state.

The Details:

The bill, known as the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, aims to ensure that states without parental notification laws do not commit an abortion on a minor from a state that has parental notification laws. It would make it illegal to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of procuring an abortion without informing one of the minor’s parents. It was introduced by Reps. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio), Bob Onder (R-Mo.), and Mark Harris (R-N.C.).

For example, bringing a minor to California (where there is no parental notification law) for an abortion to circumvent a parental notification law in the minor’s home state would be prohibited.

According to the bill, “whoever knowingly transports a minor across a State line, with the intent that such minor obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the right of a parent under a law requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, in forced in the State where the minor resides, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”

The bill would also require that abortionists notify a parent at least 24 hours before committing an abortion on a minor from out of state.

There is an exception for abortions carried out to protect the pregnant minor’s health, although induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — is not medically necessary.

“This legislation is critical to protecting parental rights when it comes to the most serious and irreversible decision a minor can make,” said Rep. Bob Onder, one of the bill’s sponsors. “No one should be able to secretly transport a child across state lines to bypass parental consent or notification laws.”

Parents can take civil action against any abortionist who violates this law, “unless the parent has committed an act of incest with the minor…”

Why It Matters:

The trafficking of minors for abortion is far too common. Below are just two examples out of many:

• In 2023, Project Veritas released an undercover video showing Planned Parenthood officials in Missouri tell a man how to take a 13-year-old girl across the state line to Kansas for an abortion. He told the staff that he was not the parent of the alleged young teen and that her parents didn’t know she was pregnant or that she wanted an abortion. Missouri law states that children 13 and younger cannot consent to sex with anyone, and those ages 14-16 cannot consent to sex with someone more than four years older. In addition, Missouri law states that no minor may consent to an abortion. Planned Parenthood was required to report the sexual abuse of the girl, but instead, it offered to get her to Kansas for an abortion, potentially aiding her sexual abuser. In Kansas, the age of consent to sex is 16, and parental consent is required for a minor to undergo an abortion.

• In November 2023, 18-year-old Kaidyn Swainston and his mother took his 15-year-old girlfriend, K.B., from Idaho (where there is a parental notification law) to Oregon (where there is no parental notification law) for an abortion without informing the girl’s parents. As previously reported by Live Action News, K.B.’s mother reported to police that her daughter had been raped and taken to Oregon for an abortion without her permission. After K.B. and the Swainstons were located, K.B. told authorities she became pregnant after Swainston turned 18, and that she was happy about the baby. But Swainston threatened to leave her and refused to pay child support, coercing her to abort. K.B. was living with the Swainstons at the time, meaning she was facing potential homelessness if she did not have the abortion — and even though she did have the abortion, she was still kicked out.

The Bottom Line:

Abortionists have proven more than willing to carry out abortions on minors without parental consent, often assisting their abusers in coerced or forced abortions. A law prohibiting out-of-state abortions on minors could help prevent such abuses.

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