Lawmakers Divided Over Public Hearing On Proposed Parental Notification Law

Connecticut teens need parental permission to get a tattoo, but not to have an abortion. A proposed state law would change that.

State Rep. T.R. Rowe, R-123rd, calls the current laws governing minors convoluted at best. Because of that he co-sponsored H.B. 6246, which would require minors seeking an abortion to notify their parents or guardians.

“The state is replete with instances of parental notification. A minor cannot get an aspirin at the school without parental consent, cannot get a tattoo without parental consent,” said Rowe. “The state is saying they need parental guidance when doing things to their body. Except abortion.”

Currently the state requires counseling for teens 16 and under that includes a discussion about the possibility of parental notification. Should the bill be enacted, Connecticut would join 39 other states with such a law.

“If parental notification reduced teen pregnancy then I would support it but I suspect the answer is not that simple,” said State Rep. Diana Urban, a Democrat who serves Stonington and North Stonington for the 43rd District.“I am in favor of reducing teen pregnancy but I will always support a woman’s right over her own body to choose and do not support any curbing of a woman’s right to choose.”

Urban would like to see a data driven results-based accountability study done followed by a discussion on the findings.

“I have tended to be opposed to parental notification as a hindrance to a woman’s free choice, but have lately come to believe that it is appropriate under ‘normal’ circumstances,” said State Sen. Andrew Maynard, a Democrat who serves Stonington in the 18th Senate District. “Clearly there are occasions when unhealthy family dynamics are not conducive to a parent’s involvement. It is these extenuating circumstances that make legislating on these matters especially challenging.”

State Rep. Elizabeth Ritter, Democrat serving Waterford and Montville’s 38th House district co-chairs the Public Health Committee, said the committee has yet to finalize which bills will get a public hearing.

"We're not finished raising all our bills," Ritter said. "But one of the issues with this bill, and I've spoken with T.R., is it's actual purpose."

Maynard said that while the issue of hearings is a matter for the committee chairs, he believed in this instance they are likely.

“I suspect some folks are using the issue to further their own political agenda with regard to abortion, while others have a genuine concern that young women perhaps should have some parental guidance on so significant a decision as to terminate a pregnancy,” Maynard said.

In addition, Capitol DisPatch: CT also left several phone and email messages with Public Health co-chair State Sen. Andrea Stillman, a Democrat serving Waterford’s 20th Senatorial District. Stillman’s office finally told Captiol DisPatch: CT the senator was “unavailable for comment.”

Under state law, teens seeking testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, or drug abuse counseling, don’t require parental notification or permission. They can also get mental health counseling for a certain period of time without parental notification.

“The things that he [Rowe] equates abortion with are things that are not similar, like ear piercing. Teen legal rights to sensitive health care and counseling are much stronger,” said Susan Yolen, executive director of Planned Parenthood for Southern New England.

“If this was the kind of policy that was truly in the interest of minors you would expect to see the social workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the X out there in force,” Yolen said. “But the only ones pushing this are the anti-abortion groups. And they are not groups that litigate for teen legal rights, or work for their health.”

The General Assembly’s Public Health Committee has yet to grant Rowe’s bill a public hearing, and that’s wrong, said state Rep. Jason Perillo, R-121st District.

“Nothing's so controversial that we can’t let people share their perspectives in a public forum,” said Perillo, a ranking member on the Public Health Committee. “In this case, people have strong opinions on both sides of the argument. Personally, I'd like to hear them.”

Urban believes a public hearing will not settle the subject but will engender a lot of polarizing rhetoric that will not be constructive, which is why she said she would like to see a RBA study followed by a public hearing on the findings.

In 1990, when the state codified Roe v. Wade into law, it addressed the issue of minors’ rights regarding abortion. The state required teens 16 and under to receive counseling on the idea of parental notification.

Right now Connecticut is one of four states with a legislative declaration that affirmatively protects a woman’s right to choose abortion. Maine, Maryland, and Washington are the other three.

Nineteen states have mandatory waiting periods that prohibit women from getting an abortion until after receiving a state-mandated lecture or materials. Connecticut has no such provision.

Connecticut is one of 30 states with abortion-specific informed consent laws that require women receive state-mandated information and materials on fetal development, prenatal care, and adoption.

As for abortions performed in the third trimester, also called partial-birth abortion, 22 states have bans. Connecticut doesn’t.

The Hartford-based Family Institute of Connecticut is determined to see this bill through.

“With the abortion rate climbing in our state, it is more urgent than ever to pass this law!” according to its website.

However, there was a 5 percent decline in the number of abortions in the state from 2008 to 2009, according to the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference. This drop was in part because of the decrease in teen abortions.

There were 13,732 abortions performed in Connecticut during 2009. That’s down from 14,534 in 2007, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Rowe said the bill could likely include an amendment that would permit minors to go before a probate judge if they feel it’s impossible or difficult to approach her parent or guardian.

But for now Rowe said he just wants a public hearing on the proposed bill.

“I’ll be tickled pink to get a fair and open hearing,” Rowe said. “But we have never been able to get a hearing on this. Those who are pro-abortion do not want to touch this with a 10-foot pole.”