Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 9, 1994 TAG: 9402090107
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Representatives of an anti-abortion-rights group criticized Cooper's bill because it would allow any adult relative or a counselor to be notified when an unmarried girl under age 16 seeks an abortion. The Virginia Society for Human Life wants a requirement that at least one parent be notified.
Cooper, D-Yorktown, said at a House Courts of Justice Committee public hearing that her bill "addresses the situation in which a parent, other family member, or guardian has abused or is likely to abuse the young woman."
At a news conference, Virginia Society for Human Life spokeswoman Fiona Givens said Cooper's parental notification bill amounts to "phony notice." Three other legislators have submitted parental notification bills that the society supports. Those bills would apply to females under age 18.
"In a time of crisis, a time of medical necessity, we value parental involvement," said Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, sponsor of one of the bills.
"To bypass parents, especially in a time of crisis, such as an unplanned pregnancy, does an extreme disservice to both parents and children," Givens said.
Said Cooper, "My bill offers an alternative. Rather than punishment, it offers compassion. Rather than judgment, it provides a helping hand."
The bills supported by the society, she said, are "unfeeling attempts to punish Virginia's young women."
Two young women who had abortions without telling their parents told the Courts of Justice Committee about their regrets.
Rachel Keihnau, who said she had an abortion four years ago when she was 16, said she was severely depressed for two years.
"I wish I had been required to tell my mother," she said. "I never would have gone through with the abortion."
Julie Waldo, 22, said she had an abortion five years ago. "The emptiness I felt was overwhelming," she said.
Waldo said that during a subsequent pregnancy, she was shown a sonogram of the fetus at nine weeks' development. "I saw the arms and the legs," she said. "That's when it really hit me. . . . I should have had a right to know about my baby's development."
Jane Milliken, a social worker from Henrico County, argued that parental notification could put some young women in jeopardy.
"When it comes to parental notification laws, in good families they are unnecessary, and in dysfunctional families they are dangerous," she said.
"I wish you could legislate a good family, legislate bedtime stories, legislate communication. But you cannot."
The General Assembly passed a parental notification bill two years ago, but then-Gov. Douglas Wilder vetoed it. Gov. George Allen has said he would sign a parental notification bill.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994
by CNB