Subject: oppose HR 1755 / S 851, the Child Custody Protection Act
To: "The American Civil Liberties Union" <belmonte@mit.edu>
From: "The American Civil Liberties Union" <belmonte@MIT.EDU>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 13:58:29 -0400 (EDT)

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Message text follows:

Matthew Belmonte
[address]


August 31, 2004

[recipient address was inserted here]


 [recipient name was inserted here],

I urge you to oppose HR 1755/S 851 the "Child Custody 
Protection Act," a bill that should be called the "Teen Abandonment Act."

This legislation would impose federal criminal penalties on any person 
other than a parent who transports a girl across state lines to evade her 
home state's restrictions on minors' access to abortion.

This legislation would not create good family communication where it does 
not already exist.  Family communication simply cannot be legislated.  
While studies have found that a majority of young women who are pregnant 
and seeking an abortion already choose to involve a parent in their 
decision, others have very valid reasons for not doing so.  One third of 
teenagers who do not tell their parents about a pregnancy have already 
been the victims of family violence -- physical, emotional and sexual 
abuse -- and fear that it will recur.

This legislation is unconstitutional. The bill would violate core 
constitutional principles -- the right of each person to travel freely 
from state to state and the right of each state to enforce its own laws 
within its boundaries. It also fails to include any exception for cases in 
which continuation of a pregnancy would imperil a girl's health.

Again, I urge you to oppose the "Child Custody Protection Act."

Sincerely,


Matthew Belmonte