Kidnapping is already a crime, and if state lines are crossed the FBI brings heavy resources in to arrest the kidnappers. You think the FBI doesn't treat kidnapping cases seriously? Call 202-736-7000 and ask them.

Yes, James, which is why kidnapping is a crime.

Unfortunately for your argument, the law doesn't actually criminalize kidnapping, as the articles you cite and quote make abundantly clear.

Caroline Fredrickson of the American Civil Liberties Union had the following comment on the passing of the Interstate Abortion Bill:
“She said the measure “would put teens, especially the most vulnerable ones, at greater risk.” She ...

I'm going to leave it at this: I have far less faith in either parents or the judicial system than James apparently does, and I also happen to think that in the real world (as opposed to a theoretical world) the circumstances in which this law will apply are very different from what most people have in their head.

When James says it's hard to fathom a reason to oppose this legislation, I merely feel it important to point out that there are, in fact, good reasons for rational adults to come to different conclusions here - and to warn him not to fall into the same rhetorical trap that the anti-war crowd has fallen into. Those of us who disagree with you aren't stupid, and while you might very well disagree with our logic (and for good reasons), it doesn't mean that we don't have good reasons to believe what we do.

You people get insane when this issue comes up.

No, they started out that way. The abortion issue just gets their froth glands pumping more than usual.

You people get insane when this issue comes up.

Just curious, how many abortions are due to incest in a year? My guess is that it is a minute number. Why don't you abortion defenders ever take a step back and note that abortion is used as retroactive birth control. That may not bother you but the thought of all of those women having unprotected sex in the age of HIV should.

I don't think James was saying "sex is evil" but was saying that he doesn't understand why normal people would disagree.

That's the problem with you pro-abortion types, everything has to be a worse-case scenario.

I'm sure cases like that exist in substantial number. But, again, there's always a judicial intervention exception.

While a kid may have bad parents, she may well come from a good home and be afraid of fessing up to having made a horrible mistake in getting pregnant. Most of us were irrationally afraid of telling our parents of much more minor transgressions.

And the "trusted adult" could well be just a local Planned Parenthood rep or the like.

Actually, we do. In most states, children are allowed to make full medical decisions without parental permission or even notification well before the age of 18. In Alabama, doctors don't have to notify parents about anything medical for a child over the age of 14 - EXCEPT for abortions. Even though I'm strongly against abortion, the illogic and inconsistency there bothers me.

Once upon a time, I would have strongly championed a law like this as well. But in the last few years I've been through a few experiences that change my mind. There are a lot of cases that fall well below the legal definition of abuse where a child would be unquestionably better off getting something like this done without parental permission.

I think there's a huge public misconception about exactly what kinds of cases these generally are. From what I've seen, it's generally not happening in cases where parents are reasonable and are helping their children make good decisions. This kind of situation is usually occurring when somebody other than her parents are the only adults the pregnant girl feels like she can turn to for help, and any adult who helps her do this usually agrees that she has good reasons not to tell her parents.

"We do not trust, for rather obvious reasons, minors to make such decisions on their own."

Which exactly backs up what I just said - in cases like this, the minor is not making this decision on their own, almost by definition. She's just found somebody other than her parents that she trusts a lot more. Any adults who help her do this aren't undertaking it lightly. They know damn good and well that they face serious social penalties for doing anything of the sort. Nevermind the possibility that it's technically illegal already under federal laws that prohibit transporting minors across state lines for "any immoral purposes" - or at least there's the possibility that a judge could rule that way.

This is a law that looks nice on paper and makes everybody feel good in theory, but when it meets the cold, messy real world it's going to cause more problems than it solves.

The Senate debates the first major abortion bill of this Congress. The measure would make it a crime...