Abortion bill could be undone by the same group that proposed it — Republicans

By Jackie Valley

Thursday, May 7, 2015 | 2 a.m.

A controversial bill that would require parental notification for minors who want an abortion won approval last month in the Nevada Assembly, but supporters say friendly fire by Republicans in the Senate could be its demise.

“Republicans are giving us problems,” said Melissa Clement, president of Nevada Right to Life, which backs the bill. “There is no reason why this shouldn’t pass.”

Assembly Bill 405, the first abortion-related measure taken up by the Nevada Legislature in years, requires that parents be notified if an unmarried girl younger than 18 seeks an abortion. The bill states that girls “may not have the necessary maturity, emotional development or mental or intellectual competency, capacity or understanding … to make a knowing, intelligent and deliberate decision” about an abortion.

The bill would require a 48-hour waiting period before a physician could proceed with the abortion.

Notification would not have to occur if the girl has a medical emergency that necessitates an immediate abortion, if a parent or guardian certifies in writing that he or she has been notified about the abortion or if a court order gives a physician authorization to perform the abortion.

Laura Deitsch, a clinical professional counselor in Las Vegas, said the bill seems like nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt at restricting abortions. If a teen doesn’t feel safe notifying a parent about her pregnancy, asking her to navigate the court system for a judicial bypass doesn’t seem like a viable option, she said.

“If you’re in high school or middle school, how do you do that?” Deitsch asked. “I know kids who don’t know how to go down to the DMV and get their driver’s license book.”

Even in the best home situations, telling a parent about a pregnancy can be frightening — and unnecessary, Deitsch said. She got an abortion after getting pregnant as a 17-year-old college freshman.

“I didn’t need my mom” to help make the decision, Deitsch said. “I knew what I wanted to do.”

The majority of pregnant girls seeking abortions at Planned Parenthood come with a parent or guardian, said Stephanie Roberts, health center manager of Planned Parenthood’s Charleston Boulevard location. If they don’t, that’s one of the first questions staff members pose.

“We specifically ask them, ‘Do you have a parent or adult who knows about the situation?’” Roberts said.

The ACLU of Nevada and the Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence also oppose the bill, arguing it further endangers already-vulnerable girls, many of whom live in troubled homes, are sexually abused or are in violent relationships.

Encouraging pregnant girls in those situations to notify a parent could have long-term consequences, Deitsch said.

“The psychological impacts of that are going to be very difficult to reverse,” she said.

If the bill succeeds, Nevada would join 38 states that require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that promotes reproductive health rights. Twenty-one of those states require parental consent for minors who want an abortion.

Clement reiterated that Assembly Bill 405 “is not a consent bill.” Her organization maintains that parental notification is a way to insert parents into crisis situations and protects girls from predators and sex traffickers who urge them to get secret abortions.

“Who exactly benefits from a 12-year-old getting a secret abortion?” Clement asked.

The deadline for the bill to make it out of committee is May 15, although it remains unclear whether that will happen. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, passed the Assembly 24-17 before being referred to a Senate finance committee.

Clement initially was optimistic the bill would sail through the Legislature because of the GOP majority in both houses. Now she fears a growing divide within the party.

Clement said a Senate Republican official told her a $2 million fiscal note had been added to the bill, but she doesn’t know why. Legislative Counsel Bureau staff said there’s no evidence of a $2 million fiscal note.

And the Republicans aren't talking. Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, Hansen and Jodi Stephens, executive director of the Nevada Senate Republican Caucus, did not respond to requests for comment.

Clement now is calling on Kieckhefer and Roberson, chair and vice chair of the Senate finance committee, to push the bill forward.

“Those are the two senators who decide whether this bill gets a hearing,” she said.