(AgapePress) - Most schools require a parent's permission for a child to go on a field trip or even take an aspirin while at school. However, a minor girl can cross state lines to have an abortion -- without her parents' knowledge. That, say parental-rights advocates, is exactly why the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) must be signed into law.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has filed cloture on S. 403, which means the U.S. Senate could conduct a cloture vote on CIANA as early as Friday (September 29). It passed the bill once already in July, when it was known as the Child Custody Protection Act, on a 65-34 bipartisan vote. But Democratic leaders had prevented it from going to conference committee with the House, which had passed a similar bill last year. On Tuesday, however, the U.S. House voted 264-153 in favor of S. 403, adding to the Senate's version a provision that would require abortion providers to notify parents of a minor seeking an abortion at least 24 hours before it takes place.

If 60 senators vote for cloture on Friday, any filibuster attempts would be eliminated and the chamber would be required to conduct an up-or-down vote on the bill before adjourning -- which is scheduled for either Friday or Saturday. A simple majority is necessary for passage of CIANA.

Tony Perkins

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council in the nation's capital, is urging concerned citizens to contact their senators -- now. "We must get at least 60 of these Senators to vote 'Yes' on cloture for CIANA, or the bill dies for the year," he explains. "Senators are very busy, but they must show up for the actual cloture vote, or we might not achieve 60 votes," he continues. "Please let them know you want them at the vote -- and to vote 'Yes' on cloture."

CIANA would make it a federal offense for anyone to take a minor across state lines for an abortion with the intention of getting around a state law that requires parental involvement in the abortion decision. Perkins notes that polls indicate that upwards of 80 percent of Americans support parental notification laws.

"The Senate must protect the rights of parents and the welfare of minor girls nationwide," the FRC leader says. "This is the most important piece of pro-life legislation considered by Congress this session, and the Senate must get it done. It's crunch time."

Perkins is not alone in his trumpeting of the necessity for the Senate to act on CIANA and protect the rights of parents. Lanier Swann, director of government relations for Concerned Women for America, says if the Senate fails to grant final passage of the bill, it will be doing the American people a "great disservice." Swann is urging the Senate to put aside what she calls "partisan antics" and send a strong bill to President Bush for his signature.

"This legislation is essential to keep adult predators accountable for smuggling minors across state lines with the intent of bypassing state abortion laws," she asserts. "Once this bill is signed into law, parents will be able to take comfort in knowing that their daughters are being protected and can consult them before making a decision that has lifelong consequences."

Wendy Wright

And parental counsel in such a situation is critical, says CWA president Wendy Wright, because parents know their daughters best. "Parents can help her work through her options and seeks solutions she may not know about, such as adoption," she suggests. "Too often, when a minor is pregnant, it is the result of a manipulative or abusive relationship -- an adult taking advantage of a minor girl who may then force her to have an abortion to cover up his crime.

"It is imperative that parents are afforded the opportunity to intervene in situations like this," Wright concludes.

National Right to Life is equally adamant about the need for the Senate to pass the bill, and goes so far as to offer an interpretation of senators' response to the cloture vote. Because of the procedural situation, says the pro-life group, "an absence [for the cloture vote] will have the same effect as a pro-abortion vote."

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