Legislation Highlights / Bills to Watch

Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (S403)
Makes it a federal crime for an individual, other than a parent, to take a pregnant minor across state lines to obtain an abortion without meeting the parental notification or consent requirements of the minor’s home state. Under CIANA, doctors would be required to follow strict notification requirements, including in-person parental notification for teens residing out of state and a 24-hour waiting period, or risk criminal penalties.

Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (HR 4437)/Securing America's Borders Act (S 2454)
H.R. 4437 makes it a federal crime to be an undocumented immigrant or to help immigrants in need. H.R. 4437 has served as an umbrella bill to several other anti-immigrant bills that have recently passed and that infringe upon the rights of immigrant Latinas:

• H.R. 4844 : Government issued photo I.D> required to vote in a federal election)
• H.R. 6089 : Gives wide discretion and authority to DHS to detain “dangerous” aliens and to State and local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws
• H.R. 6090 : Reforms immigration litigation procedures and combats alien “gang crime”
• H.R. 6091 : Ensures the removal of deportable criminal aliens. Lastly, and most detrimentally to our immigrant community
• H.R. 6061 : Calls for construction of a multi-billion dollar 700 mile fence along the 2,000-mile U.S./ Mexico border.

Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2006 (HR5806)
A teen pregnancy prevention bill that calls for public education that contains medically accurate contraceptive information that is culturally and linguistically competent.

Putting Prevention First Act (S 20/ HR 1709)
This legislation aggregates seven family planning-related bills designed to expand access to health care services and education programs that help reduce unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and the need for abortion through several mechanisms.

Responsible Education about Life Act (S 368/HR 2553)
The Act would provide states with funding to teach sexuality education that includes information on both abstinence and contraception. Funding for the program would match federal dollars currently used for abstinence-only-until-marriage education.