Judiciary Statement: "The Child Custody Protection Act"

Statement of Chairman Orrin G. Hatch before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Hearing on “The Child Custody Protection Act: Protecting Parents Rights and Children’s Lives”

I want to thank Senator Sessions for holding this hearing today. I also want to thank Senator Ensign for introducing S. 851, the Child Custody Protection Act, and for appearing today to testify. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of S. 851 and want to express my strong support for this important piece of legislation. Similar legislation was previously introduced in past sessions of Congress but, and I am sad to say, never was signed into law. However, I hope that this Congress we are able to pass this bill which will help protect the health and safety of children while safeguarding the rights and responsibilities of parents.

I want to first thank Crystal Lane for her courage to appear here today, to testify, and to participate in the legislative process. As you hear her traumatic story, remember when this happened, Crystal was a young 13 year old girl—barely a teenager— who was underwent a serious medical procedure, an abortion, without anesthesia, without the comfort of her mother or any other family, and which resulted in serious medical complications that caused her and her family much pain afterwards.

The Child Custody Protection Act is a reasonable and rational approach to fixing a serious problem, like Crystal was exposed to. In most places, a school nurse cannot provide an aspirin to a student for a headache without permission from the parent. Students cannot go on field trips without parental approval. Some report cards need a parent's signature to verify the parent knows how their child is performing academically.

This bill is not addressing something relatively trivial; it is drawing attention to a very serious medical procedure and protecting the health and safety of young girls. States that choose to implement parental notification laws because of their concerns with the well-being and safety of children should have every tool necessary to enforce their own laws.

If you would like to read the rest of this hearing please visit hatch.senate.gov.