Published: November 01, 2005 11:22 pm         

West Virginians for Life honor House Speaker Kiss

Though the next legislative session is two months away, West Virginians for Life is gearing up to fight for the Parents Right to Know Act.

The Morgantown-based anti-abortion organization honored House Speaker Bob Kiss, D-Raleigh, in Beckley Tuesday night for his strong anti-abortion voting record and support of the organization.

Melissa Adkins, legislative director of West Virginians for Life, said the Beckley visit was also the kickoff of traveling the organization will do throughout the state to drum up support of the Parents Right to Know Act.

If passed, the bill would require that at least one parent be notified before an underage girl had an abortion, Adkins said. The parent would be notified by certified mail, with delivery restricted to the addressee. The bill would not, however, require that a parent give consent. The parent would not have authority to stop the abortion after notification.

The reason West Virginians for Life is pushing for parental notification and not consent is because parental consent is currently being challenged in the court system, she said. Notification has been upheld.

Adkins explained why the bill is of utmost importance to West Virginians for Life.

“Abortion is an invasive surgical procedure with risks involved,” she said. “In our society, juveniles must let their parents know before getting their ears pierced, getting a tattoo, entering into contracts, getting married — all sorts of things. Our society has recognized that they may not have developed decision-making skills at their age.”

Kiss said the bill would include some exceptions for underage girls to get abortions without parental notification. One of the exceptions to the rule, he said, would be cases of abuse by a parent. In these cases, a judge would decide whether the parent would be notified in a private court hearing.

This, Adkins said, would help a girl twofold. The court system would know about her abusive situation and notify the proper authorities.

Adkins said West Virginia law does not bar a sexual predator from forcing a victim to have an abortion to cover up a crime. However, someone bringing an underage girl to a clinic for an abortion claiming to be a parent who wants to “waive notification” must show identification under the Parents Right to Know Act. Clinics would have to keep identification copies of all those who claim to be parents waiving notification — which could alert authorities to anything amiss.

Before Kiss became House speaker, anti-abortion legislation was rarely introduced, Adkins said. Now, with Kiss in his position and “pro-life” Gov. Joe Manchin in office, such legislation as the Unborn Victims of Violence Act have been made law.

“For 14 years, Chuck Chambers was the House speaker and we could get no pro-life legislation passed,” Adkins said. “Bob Kiss has been fair and has opened up the doors to us.”

Both Adkins and Kiss commended other legislators such as Delegate Sally Susman, D-Raleigh, and Sen. Russ Weeks, R-Raleigh, for their anti-abortion voting records. Kiss, who said he was humbled to be honored by West Virginians for Life, noted that some like to peg one political party as strictly pro choice and another as strictly pro life. In West Virginia, this is not the case, he noted.

“In my 18 years, I have seen that neither political party holds the moral high ground on this issue,” he said. “I believe that it is critically important that citizens study candidates, the issues, their voting records, especially with new individuals entering these races. Saying that one party holds the high ground is wrong and is a disservice to all of us.”

Weeks pledged his support for the Parents Right to Know Act, saying he would “proudly” co-sponsor the bill.

“This is long overdue, and I feel that this is my right and my duty,” he said. “... The ACLU and Planned Parenthood would challenge this law, but as parents and as Americans, we cannot take any more.”

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