For years, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has introduced the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, a bill meant to stop teens under 18 from going to a state without a parental consent or parental notification law in order to obtain an abortion.

And for years, the bill has gone nowhere.  But this year it actually got a hearing.

Supporting the bill was University of St. Thomas professor Theresa Collett, who called the bill “constitutionally sound.”  Then again, she said the same about numerous anti-choice legislative bills in Oklahoma that have been held up in the courts for years now.

Ros-Lehtinen stated during the hearing that:

CIANA is a critical piece of legislation that ensures that parental rights are upheld, while promoting the inherent dignity of the unborn. The majority of the American people and more than 30 state legislatures have made it clear that parents have the right to know whether their child is trying to undergo an abortion.

“Parental rights” are upheld, and the “unborn” are protected. There is, of course, no mention of rights or needs of the pregnant teen.

As more states push legislation that requires parental consent and notification, as well as try to tighten requirements for getting a judicial bypass on notification rules, expect bills like CIANA to continue to gain support from the anti-choice activists who want to literally trap teens into giving birth.