vides for a constitutionally sound judicial bypass procedure. The Child Custody Protection Act is designed to preserve the application of such state laws, supplemented by a penalty section to provide a uniform penalty for those individuals circumventing laws by crossing state lines. Because the Act derives its substantive content entirely from state law, the Act will only be enforceable when a prosecutor can show that a constitutionally sound state parental consent or notification law exists. Thus, the CCPA itself does not independently implicate any constitutional issues associated with parental notification or consent mandates. VI. ConclusionEach year, our children's lives are placed in jeopardy as girls are escorted by strangers and others into neighboring states for abortions in contravention of state parental notice and consent laws. Only parents are familiar with and authorized to disclose a child's prior medical history and pertinent medical data. It is imperative, then, that the parents be part of the decision-making process when the decision involved is as monumental and irreversible as the decision to abort an unborn. Moreover, the rights of parents to raise their children according to the dictates of conscience are fundamental and constitutionally protected.Studies conducted in various states (profiled above) demonstrate an unmistakable correlation between the number of girls seeking abortions out of state and the existence of parental consent and/or notification laws in the girls' home states. In states requiring parental consent or notification, abortion counselors often circumvent the law by referring girls to out-of-state clinics which advertise that they do not require parental consent or a waiting period. This scenario fosters hasty and ill-advised decisions in which confused, frightened young girls are coerced into having abortions by those who may not have the girls' best interest in mind. The Child Custody Protection...
