The debate over abortion has raged on for many years. At first, people argued that a fetus was simply a clump of cells in a woman's body, not a real, living child. Today the buzzword is "choice", a woman's choice, the right to choose, what many abortion-advocates overlook is that abstinence, birth control and adoption are also choics a woman can make. The recent women's conference in China has shifted the world's focus to women's rights and women's issues. (lronic in a country where forced abortions and gross hunan rights violations are tolerated). When we discuss human rights, we often neglect the rights of the unborn, those who all too often have no one to fight on their behalf.
With the Republican primaries a mere five months away, the candidates are on the campaign trail and adressing the vital issues which the voters are concerned about. Candidate Alan Keyes has been especially vocal on his pro-life position, putting the abortion issue at the forefront of his campaign. Others have followed his lead, not to, as some political commentators contend, lure the right wing of their party, but as an honest reflection of their constituent's beliefs. Many politicians have recognized the beliefs of the American public, not radical members of N.O.W., but decent, hardworking families who believe in morality, decency, and thc sanctity of life.
Why then. does the Texas legislature fail to reflect the moral climat of those whom they represent? Why do abortionists have more rights than concerned parents in Texas? Under current law, minors can undergo an abortion without their parents' knowledge, let alone their consent. It is a tragic reality that about 500,000 abortions a year are perlormed on minors nationally. Thousands of parents are denied any involvement in their daughters' decision to kill her unborn child. If a minor needs parental consent to get her ears pierced or to get aspirin from the school nurse why then can she walk into an abortion clinic and undergo the procedure without her parents even knowing she was pregnant? Non-emergency medical procedures require parental consent in Texas, why not abortion? The government obviously places little importance on a procedure that terminates the life of an unborn child and causes extreme mental anguish and emotional trauma on the mother. Whose interests do some legislators really have at heart? The family's or the abortion industry's?
Senate bill 83 would have required minors to inform at least one parent 48 hours before obtaining an abortion (a court could over-ride the law for individual cases at their discression). The bill was sponsored by Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) with 16 co-sponsors and the bipartisan support of 19 senators ( a clear majority had the bill come up to a vote). Lacking the two-thirds majority to bring it to a vote, the bill died two votes short, a victim of political mishandling and bureaucratic gridlock. The Texas Legislature only meets for 140 days once every two years, so it will be some time before the state abortion laws are discussed again. We are confident that the Texas Legislature will consider what is right tor the families, and more importantly, what is right for the thousands of unbom children that needlessly suffer in silence each year.