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The poll found that even among persons who describe themselves as "pro-choice," almost three-fourths oppose the practice. Abortion advocates readily admit that "thousands of adults each year" take minor girls out-of-state for concealed abortions.
Legislation to stop this practice--the Child Custody Protection Act--will be voted on by Congress, perhaps as early as July 15.
"This is the kind of law that should find support from people on both sides of the abortion debate," said Helen Alvare, Director of Planning and Information for the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. "It affirms the long-standing consensus in our country that parents have the right and the responsibility to make certain decisions for their minor children. Abortion should not be the one exception. It is a very serious surgery with life-long physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual repercussions."
In contrast to the view of most Americans, abortion advocates insist that those who take minors across state lines have a "constitutional right" to do so, even if they are attempting to conceal criminal activity. They argued this position in a Pennsylvania case in which a woman was charged with accompanying her stepson's 13-year-old pregnant girlfriend to an out-of-state abortion clinic without satisfying Pennsylvania's parental involvement law. The stepson was convicted of statutory rape.
The Pro-Life Secretariat retained Baselice & Associates, Inc., to conduct survey research for the purpose of studying attitudes and opinions of people in the United States. The survey was conducted among 1,000 persons on June 6-8, 1998. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%.
for abortions without parental knowledge
WASHINGTON (July 9, 1998) -- A nationwide survey released today shows that 85% of Americans agree that a minor should not be taken across state lines for an abortion without her parents' knowledge.