Editor's Desk: Protecting Children

By Michael F. Flach
Herald Editor
(From the issue of 4/25/02)

The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved the Child Custody Protection Act, which would make it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion without the knowledge of a parent or guardian. The bill now is being considered by the Senate.

The bill "recognizes the fundamental relationship between parents and children," said Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. "In the abortion context, this relationship is often violated by individuals who think they know what is best for someone else’s pregnant teenage daughter.

Anderson said no one, not friends, not relatives, not the counselor at the school clinic, "has the right to take your child from you for a secret abortion, all in clear violation of parental involvement laws."

These "secret abortions" are often carried out in order to conceal criminal evidence, such as statutory rape, he said.

"The Child Custody Protection Act is about protecting young girls in a very vulnerable position, and in protecting their health and safety," Anderson said. "It is also about protecting the rights of parents to be involved in critical decisions affecting their children."

The Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal organization, strongly urged the Senate to follow the House and pass the legislation.

"This is common-sense legislation, overwhelmingly supported by the majority of Americans, which will protect girls and their parents," said Jane Abraham, president of the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, an organization that works to train pro-life activists and political candidates. "No one has the right to secretly take a child for an abortion without the parents’ knowledge or consent, but it happens thousands of times each year."

The primary sponsor of the bill is Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, one of seven pro-life women in Congress and a SBA List member.

Abraham said it is important for the Senate to honor the will of the American people by supporting this bill. "When President Bush signs this important bill into law, it will be a valuable tool in protecting parents and minors from the abuse of having a stranger secretly interfere in a serious emotional and medical situation," she said.

"Throughout the nation, I continue to meet people who call themselves ‘pro-choice’ but who nevertheless believe that a parent’s authority does not stop at the state border," said Father Frank Pavone, a senior adviser at Priest’s for Life.

Father Pavone said it is important to remember that anyone who takes a person to an abortion mill, or in any way facilitates that abortion, "shares before God the responsibility for taking a human life. Few sins are more grave than that."

In the midst of a growing climate to protect our children, the U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down a law banning virtual child pornography. The Court held that previous rulings prohibiting child pornography applied only to real children and not to images that merely appear to depict children engaged in sex.

This appears to contradict recent FBI sting operations which resulted in the arrests of hundreds of individuals involved in the sale and distribution of child pornography.

"This is cultural schizophrenia," said William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. "We don’t like the consequences of perversion, but don’t have the guts to deal with its sources."— M.F.F.

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