The ACLU strongly criticized the House of Representatives in July for passing a bill that would make criminals out of family members who help a teenager travel to another state for an abortion.
Most young women involve their parents in deciding whether to have an abortion.
Those who do not are often the victims of incest or other family abuse. The Senate will likely take up the legislation when it returns from recess next year. Anticipating the birth of his first child, Trooper Kevin Knussman originally sought leave in 1994 under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave upon the birth of a child. Knussman and the ACLU said the state police violated Knussman's rights and broke federal and state laws that allow parents time off to care for newborn children. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton profiled Knussman's case in her 1995 book, It Takes A Village, and Knussman testified before a Congressional Committee on Family and Medical Leave in 1995 about his efforts to claim benefits.