Senator Loren Leman's

Remarks before the Senate Health,

Education, and Social Services (HESS) Committee

Alaska State Capitol -- Butrovich Hearing Room

Wednesday, January 29, 1997 9:00 AM

Senator Loren Leman made the following remarks on Senate Bill 24, legislation he has introduced to allow enforcement of existing state law which requires parental consent before a minor can obtain an abortion.

Thank you Mr. Chairman for scheduling this bill for our first meeting of the Senate HESS Committee.

Senate Bill 24 is the revisitation of an old friend. It was Senate Bill 105 in the Nineteenth Alaska Legislature. It is a bill that will make Alaska's current law regarding the requirement for parental consent for an abortion enforceable. A number of people are surprised when they learn that Alaska has a parental consent law, and a number of people are surprised when they learn that that law is not enforced.

In fact, that law has been on the books since 1970, but in 1976 an Alaska Attorney General ruled -- and subsequently there has been no change in that ruling -- that that law is not enforceable without what's called a "judicial bypass", without the option for a young girl going to a judge instead of a parent to get permission to have an abortion.

In terms of national policy, our President and his wife have both espoused, among other things, that they desire to see abortions become more rare. And in the interest of assisting with this goal of a national policy that the President has advocated, I believe this bill will make a small step toward that. It's what I would say would be common ground in the debate. And I know, Mr.Chairman, you've talked about not getting off on perhaps the rabbit trails that this issue could bring up, because a lot of people have strong feelings about the issue of abortion. But this, I believe, is common ground, and I believe that all but the most ardent supporters of abortion-on-demand would recognize that parental involvement in a young girl's decision is not only appropriate, but it's the right thing to do.

I know that when we look at many other things that children do, that parents are required to give permission. I am the father of 3 young children, and I have to give permission for a field trip. I had to sign the permission form when my 12-year-old daughter had her ears pierced (she had to sign it too, and I found that interesting). And if there's medication given at school, we have to give permission for that. But in the area of abortion, the law, for some reason, is different. And I believe this will make at least a step in the right direction in righting that wrong.

I have provided in your packets, and I hope you've had a chance to read it, the sponsor statement. I'm not going to read through that sponsor statement, but I will highlight a few things. In it is a legislative finding, a statement that says: "The capacity to become pregnant and the capacity for mature judgment concerning the wisdom of an abortion are not necessarily related."

It is my firm belief that teenagers stand to benefit from the support and counsel that parents can offer at a very difficult moment in that young person's life.

I know that others will say, "but that's already being done in functional families, and it's only in the dysfunctional families where this should not be required, because there may be cases of abuse, or worse yet, cases of rape or incest." And I'm guessing we will probably hear testimony to that effect, Mr. Chairman, today.

And yet, let's recognize that most families offer a supportive environment for their children. Most parents love their children and want to help them through life's challenges, if given the chance. And that's what this bill will do. It's what it's all about: giving parents the chance to be parents when needed most.

If we look at results, 38 states currently have parental involvement statutes on the books. These statutes are enforced in 27, and the results show that where these statutes are enforced, the results are positive. Teen pregnancies are down, teen births are down, and teen abortions are down.

Mr. Chairman, I believe that this bill is a common sense approach. It does not take away the so-called "right to an abortion" that the Supreme Court has allowed in a number of decisions it has made, starting with Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. But it does proceed in line with what the Supreme Court has allowed, with reasonable restrictions, and in this case restrictions on children which are totally appropriate.

I believe it is consistent not only with the U.S. Supreme Court decisions, but also with Alaska's right to privacy. And that is an area others will likely dispute, and I will disagree with them firmly on that topic because our Constitution, and our body of law, clearly treat adolescents differently from adults when it comes to decisions that require maturity.

So Mr. Chairman, I commend SB 24 to you and again thank you for allowing us to hear it, and to engage in this debate today.