Panel OKs bill requiring parental notification for abortion

By Michelle Rindels, Associated Press

Published Friday, April 10, 2015 | 2:02 p.m.

Updated Friday, April 10, 2015 | 8:16 p.m.

CARSON CITY — Nevada lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill requiring doctors to notify a girl's parents before performing an abortion when the patient is a minor.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee voted Friday to pass AB405, which is sponsored by Republican Assembly Speaker John Hambrick. Four Democrats on the committee opposed it.

The bill requires doctors to personally deliver a written notice to a patient's parents or send one by certified mail, and wait 48 hours until the notice is delivered before performing the procedure. It doesn't require parents to consent to the abortion.

Proponents, including Nevada Right to Life President Melissa Clement, said parents should be involved in an emotionally traumatic situation such as an unexpected pregnancy. She said it was inappropriate that minors can't get tattoos or use a tanning bed in Nevada without parental permission, but they are allowed to undergo a major medical procedure on their own.

Opponents of the bill said involving parents in the decision to have an abortion is ideal, but not practical in all cases, especially when the teen comes from an unstable home or fears retaliation.

"Young women in abusive homes often have deep fears of communicating with their parents," Kristy Oriol of the Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence said in prepared remarks. "Mandated policies that require young women to get the consent from their parents can exacerbate abuse and create a very dangerous situation."

Committee chairman Ira Hansen, a Republican, called the concerns were overblown and said other states that have notification requirements have seen a decline in abortions.

The proposed law includes exceptions. Minors could get permission from a judge to get an abortion without the notification, and they could also avoid the rule if they're experiencing a medical emergency, although the bill specifies that an emotional crisis doesn't constitute an emergency.

The bill also doesn't require doctors notify a parent whose parental rights have terminated.

The measure was amended late Friday to remove a requirement that the state compile data on how many minors went through the courts to avoid parental notification.

Republican leaders said earlier this week that the abortion-notification idea would be downgraded to a study completed after the session because it could pose a heavy cost for courts and was not a priority on busy week that included a legislative deadline. But they later switched course and brought it up for a hearing, saying some members of the Republican caucus wanted discussion on the bill.