Arkansas Uses AUL-Based Language to Protect Young Girls from an Abuser’s Coercion
“This law puts the needs of young girls being abused before the desires of predators and abortionists who want to cover up the crime. Thanks to the efforts of pro-family and pro-life leaders in the state, criminals will not be able to easily forge a parent’s signature to cover up a crime,” said AUL’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (04-03-15) — With his signature, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchison signed into law a historic measure, based on legal language from Americans United for Life, to protect young girls from manipulative, sexual abusers. Arkansas HB 1424 becomes “one of the strongest parental consent laws in the nation, designed to close loopholes that allowed sexual predators to cover their crimes by pressuring young girls to have an abortion and forging parental consent,” said AUL President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
“This law puts the needs of young girls being abused before the desires of predators and abortionists who want to cover up the crime. Thanks to the efforts of pro-family and pro-life leaders in the state, criminals will not be able to easily forge a parent’s signature to cover up a crime,” said Dr. Yoest.
Among the strengthened parental involvement provisions, abortion providers must receive notarized consent from a legal parent or guardian before performing an abortion on a minor. This will help ensure that the correct person has consented to plans to perform an abortion on a minor, a requirement that is challenging for abortion providers to subvert. The parent or guardian must be provided an emergency number in case something goes wrong with the abortion, and the measure includes a detailed disclosure form that addresses all of the dangers posed by abortion, that must be signed by both the minor and her parent.
“In most states, parents or guardians must authorize ear piercings, and yet have been too often prevented from even knowing about a child’s abortion surgery or the deadly administration of life-ending drugs,” noted Dr. Yoest. “Given the health risks of abortion to women and girls, this effort to involve adults provides true, loving engagement.”
For more on the dangers of abortion, click here. For more on AUL’s cutting edge legislation, found in Defending Life, click here.
