Parental consent for minors’ abortions advanced

A bill that would amend parental notification requirements related to abortion was advanced from general file May 18.

LB690, introduced by Sen. Lydia Brasch of Bancroft, would require the notarized written consent from a minor’s parent or guardian before the minor could have an abortion, except in cases of medical emergency. Current law requires that the parent or guardian be notified of the procedure by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested.

Under the bill, the consent requirement could be waived if a judge finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that a minor is both sufficiently mature and well informed to decide whether to have the abortion. If the minor is a victim of abuse by the parent, a physician could accept notarized written consent from a sibling at least 21 years of age, a stepparent or grandparent. An unauthorized person providing consent would be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

A Judiciary Committee amendment, adopted 30-7, narrowed that provision to allow only grandparents to give consent in cases of abuse and removed the requirement that the court find a pattern of abuse by a parent or guardian when providing a judicial bypass of the consent requirement for abuse by a parent or guardian.

Under the amendment, if a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that an abortion is in the best interest of the pregnant minor despite not having parental consent, the abortion may still be performed.

Brasch said a young woman facing a decision about abortion should have the guidance of a parent or guardian. Science proves that adolescents’ brains are not fully developed, making them less capable of making good decisions, she said, particularly about something as irreversible and life-altering as an abortion.

Sen. Brenda Council of Omaha said the bill is unnecessary, as a parent already is present for abortion procedures in an overwhelming majority of abortions performed on minors. Further, she said, the current requirement for parental notification already gets the parent involved and current statute already provides a judicial bypass procedure.

Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad also opposed the bill, saying that current parental notification laws for minor abortions have proven sufficient. The bill would do nothing more than inhibit access to the procedure for young women, she said.

Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill brought an amendment to the bill that would provide prenatal care for undocumented minors who are pregnant. The amendment was in response to legislation considered last session that would have provided prenatal care to undocumented women, she said. The bill sponsor requested that the bill be bracketed and it later was indefinitely postponed by the Legislature.

If abortion is the wrong decision for teens to make, McGill said, the Legislature should ensure sure that all teens can get prenatal care.

“Babies know no border and they have committed no crime,” she said. “The frenzy over whether someone is here legally or not has trumped what is right.”

Brasch challenged the germaneness of the amendment. According to legislative rules, only amendments found to be germane, or relevant, to the bill may be considered during debate. The chair ruled the amendment to be not germane to LB690.

McGill challenged the ruling of chair, saying the bill includes provisions about prenatal care and public assistance, as does her amendment.

Grand Island Sen. Mike Gloor agreed, saying that providing prenatal benefits to teens is relevant to the abortion legislation. If these children are born, the state will be responsible for their delivery, he said, so appropriate prenatal care should be provided.

“I can’t play two different sides of the street on this issue,” he said.

Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha said the prenatal care was worthy of debate but that it should follow legislative procedure and be brought as its own bill.

The attempt to overrule the chair failed on a 16-28 vote.

Much of the debate centered on the bill’s proposed requirement that the parental consent form be notarized.

Council said involving a notary was a severe flaw in the bill because it would disclose private medical information. Further, she said, the bill was unclear and inconsistent about when the notary would be necessary.

“In a small town, everybody would know,” she said. “The mere fact that the notary knows is a breach of confidentiality.”

Brasch said the notary requirement would prevent a person from posing as the minor’s parent and coercing her into having an abortion. Twenty-five states have parental consent laws, she said, and those states have seen an 18 percent reduction in abortions performed on minors. While the number of abortions has generally been declining nationally, she said, she would like to see the numbers lower.

“There is a loss of life that will never come back,” she said. “Other states have shown that they can decline more.”

Malcolm Sen. Ken Haar said 40 percent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion, so if the goal is to prevent abortions, the Legislature should consider legislation to prevent unintended pregnancies. He said he shared concerns about the bill’s notary requirement and said it should be clarified.

Haar introduced an amendment to clarify that the consent form should not mention the specific medical procedure requiring the consent but withdrew the amendment after Brasch agreed to work with him on drafting a suitable amendment for select file debate.

Council brought an amendment that would have removed language from the bill that would provide public assistance benefits to a pregnant minor who is denied financial support by her parent or guardian due to her refusal to have an abortion, whether or not she is a resident of the state.

This language provides public assistance benefits to teens that the state Department of Health and Human Services is currently under no obligation to provide, Council said. In order to be consistent with the ruling that Sen. McGill’s amendment was not germane, this language also should be removed, she said.

The amendment failed 8-24 and LB690 advanced to select file on a 33-7 vote.