PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Health and Environment.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Oct 7, 1998
Parental Notification Act of 1998 - Declares that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, no service provider under title X (Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs) of the Public Health Service Act is exempt from any State law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest. Prohibits using title X funds to provide contraceptive drugs or devices to a minor, unless: (1) the provider has given prior notice to the custodial parent; (2) the parent has consented; (3) the minor is emancipated; or (4) a court has directed that the minor may receive the drugs or devices. Requires that each title X project: (1) inform all minors seeking services that abstinence is the only certain way to avoid pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; (2) train all its counselors to provide minors counseling that encourages sexual abstinence, avoidance of being coerced into sexual activities, and involving parents in the decision to seek family planning services. Mandates development and dissemination of protocols for providing such counseling.
People & committees
Rep. Istook, Ernest J., Jr. [R-OK-5] · R–OK
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health and Environment.
Referred to the House Committee on Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jun 3, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.4721 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.4721 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.4721 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.4721 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.