Parental Notification Of Abortion Bill Clears House

The House approved a bill adding rules to parental consent and notification of abortion…even as some Democrats raised new issues with the measure.

Underage girls can go to court to bypass their parents and get consent for an abortion. This session’s legislation says if the judge grants that consent, the judge must also decide whether the girl’s parents should be notified.

That’s scaled back from the bill’s original version, which didn’t make that notification optional.

But Democrats on the House floor pointed to a part of the bill that says if the judge denies a girl’s request for consent, the court is required to tell the parents. Rep. Tom Washburne (R-Evansville) says that’s exactly the intent.

“Somebody has to care for that young girl. Somebody has to be involved in that young girl … and the way we are in our society, it’s the family,” Washburne says.

Rep. Linda Lawson (D-Hammond) says that requirement is wrong.

“We are taking away the ability for this young woman to go home and talk to her parents and tell them that she’s pregnant,” Lawson says.

The House approved the bill 75 to 23, sending it back to the Senate.