Protecting Children

Unquestionably, children are the most innocent of all citizens who must be protected. I strongly believe that parents must be involved in their children’s lives. The public, state statutes, and Supreme Court precedent all support parental involvement in the major life decision by a minor to have an abortion. Forty-four states have recognized the important role of parents in a minor girl’s decision to have an abortion by enacting parental involvement statutes. Even so, many of these laws are being circumvented by people who simply transport girls across state lines to states without parental notification laws to get abortions. All too often, these other adults are grown men who have sexually preyed on young girls and use abortions to cover up their crimes.

That is why I co-sponsored H.R. 748, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) to return parental rights to parents. H.R. 748 passed the U.S. House in April 2005, and it now awaits action by the Senate.

One of the most important goals of our criminal justice system is to protect the rights of innocent citizens. I believe that child molesters are of the worst cast of criminals. I support timely and strict punishment for all perpetrators of such crimes. Our society needs to do more to protect all of our children from the morally bankrupt elements of our culture and from degenerates who prey on their innocence.

For these reasons, I was a cosponsor of H.R. 4150, Carlie’s Law, which would mandate the revocation of probation and supervised release for anyone who commits a felony crime of violence or a crime of violence against or has unlawful sexual contact with a person under age 16.