RICHMOND - A bill requiring parental consent for a minor to obtain an abortion was rejected by a Senate committee Feb. 12, deflating pro-life hopes after the bill was approved overwhelmingly by the House.

The House vote took place Feb. 9 as the legislature rushed to finalize bills before the Feb. 12 crossover date, when bills passed in the House and Senate are considered by the opposite chambers.

The parental consent bill, introduced by Delegate Richard H. Black (R-32), would have closed a major loophole in existing law governing notification of parents before an abortion.

"The parental consent legislation goes a long ways toward giving back to parents responsibilities with regard to their children," said Robert Laird, director of the diocesan Office for Family Life.

Laird congratulated the House for trying to return this responsibility to parents and was disappointed that the Senate and Governor Mark Warner did not follow the House's lead.

During earlier debate on the House floor, Black explained shifting control over an abortion is the exact purpose of the bill. "Abortion decisions shouldn't be made by strangers with financial interests in the outcome," he said. "This bill shifts control back to the parents who love and nurture their daughters."

Pro-life leader Mick Staton said that today in Virginia a minor could have an abortion over her parents' objections.

"It's ironic that minors need parental consent for any medical procedure - including ear piercing - but not for surgical abortions," he said. "A school nurse can't even prescribe aspirin to a minor without parental consent."

Despite the setback, pro-life supporters were buoyed by news Feb. 12 that three other pro-life measures advanced in the House.

A bill passed that will revive Virginia's ban on late-term abortions. The House approved a bill that would introduce "feticide" into state criminal law and gave preliminary approval to a measure that would provide a "conscience clause" to protect doctors, pharmacists and other health-care personnel who are morally opposed to emergency contraception and the abortion pill RU-486.

The Senate must approve the bills before they become laws.

The Washington Post reported Feb. 12 that some senators and the governor would support a ban on late-term abortions, as long as it's constitutional. If signed into law, Virginia would become the first state to reinstate a ban on partial-birth abortions since the Supreme Court struck down similar laws last year.

In earlier legislative action, a House committee prevented emergency contraception legislation from reaching the House floor.

"It is inconceivable that the Senate of Virginia sees nothing wrong with providing an abortion-causing drug over-the-counter to anyone who desires it," Laird said. "No one has considered the side effects of those drugs on women in Virginia. Thanks to Delegate Jeannemarie Devolites from Vienna and others who prevented an identical bill from reaching the floor of the House."

Laird also said it was a "welcome sign" that the Senate passed restrictions on the use of the death penalty for those deemed to be mentally retarded."