June 29, 2012
From the Desk of Carol Soelberg:
We’re all still reeling from the U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold “Obamacare.” This piece of legislation is an affront to individual liberty and to religious freedom and must be repealed. We will be putting our influence behind those efforts.
We wanted, today, to draw your attention to a positive, common-sense initiative – the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act or CIANA. Polls consistently show that 70% of Americans strongly favor parents being notified when a minor seeks an abortion. A majority of Americans also favor laws that would prevent the transportation of minors over state lines to circumvent parental notification. This bill has the best interests of the child and parental rights at its core and we urge you to watch for this proposed legislation and give it your support.
We also urge you to give support to an effort to send a message to the Gates Foundation as they embark on a new program designed to push population control and ultimately abortion upon the countries of the world.
Sincerely,
Carol Soelberg
President, United Families International
My Daughter is a Genius
My daughter is a genius. I know tons of mothers say that, but in my case, it’s actually true. My baby girl is a genius. Elizabeth is so much of a genius that she decided to tie an adult, metal-handled jump rope to the top of a pecan tree. Yup. She did that. She tied one end to the high branches and let the other end hang down to the tulips that grow right beneath the pecan tree in my backyard. Then, in her infinite genius state, she swung on one end of the rope pretending to be a monkey. The only difference between my daughter and the monkey she was pretending to be is that when monkeys swing from trees they actually know what they’re doing, which, clearly, my daughter didn’t. She realized she didn’t know what she was doing when the metal handle broke, piercing the skin, fish-hooking into her left index finger, ripping the finger open from first knuckle through her fingernail. It was a bloody affair.
Naturally, I rushed Beth to the emergency room to get her the stitches she obviously needed. A funny thing happened there. Before the doctor would stitch my daughter’s finger back together, I had to sign a form. I had to sign a paper stating that I, as a parent, gave my permission for my daughter to receive medical treatment. Her grandmother could not have taken her for stitches because she does not have the authority to sign for Beth’s treatment. The neighbor couldn’t sign for treatment. Beth’s sister couldn’t sign for treatment. None of them have the authority, unless I sign a power of attorney and give them permission to sign for treatment. I am the parent. I authorize medical care. Even for stitches on the hand of a failed monkey attempt. Until Elizabeth is eighteen years old, I will sign to authorize every medical treatment she receives. Not even the dentist can act without my express consent. No one, not doctor or phlebotomist or dentist can take any action on a child without express consent of the parent.
Except for an abortionist.
Only 33 states require parental consent for an abortion performed on a minor child. That means that in 17 states, a minor would require parental consent for stitches, for dialysis, for chemotherapy, and to have a cavity filled, but not for an abortion. No dental treatment without signed consent, but no parental consent needed to have a surgical operation which will most definitely have physical and emotional repercussions for the child (yes, child) having an abortion. A child who the state considers much too immature to purchase alcohol, drive a car, enlist in the military, marry, sign for a bank account or vote is considered, in these 17 states, old enough to decide the most important decision of their lives completely alone.
And it is to these 17 states that children are able to cross state lines to procure an abortion without parental consent or even parental knowledge. Children who cannot sign for their own dental work can cross state lines and avoid the very laws meant to protect them.
To circumvent this situation, Congress is considering passing the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA). This federal law would prevent a non-parent from transporting a minor across state lines to avoid complying with a parental involvement law in the minor’s state of residence, and require parental notification when the child seeks to obtain an abortion in a state other than the child’s state of legal residence. I hope we understand how important this law is. This law would make it so a young teenage victim of statutory rape could not be taken across state lines by her older boyfriend or other pedophile to procure an abortion her parents are not aware of, thereby trapping the child in an abusive relationship and leaving her parents helpless to provide parental support or follow up health care.
I fully support CIANA. I hope that any readers will also investigate the law, decide where you stand on the issue and advocate fully for the protection of our children. My daughter cannot drive across state lines to get stitches without parental consent. She can’t travel across state lines to have a cavity filled. She cannot vote, marry or make a myriad of other decisions because she is too immature and lacks the capacity for understanding the gravity of her actions.
I ask you, why should abortion be any different?
Melissa Anderson is a lawyer in San Antonio, Texas. She is the mother of seven crazily adorable children and an author of children’s books. In her spare time, Melissa volunteers extensively with Court Appointed Special Advocates educating the community on issues related to child abuse and neglect.
