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Committee hears Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, supporters say it’s a prevention tool not frequently used
Summary
Testimony supported adopting the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act to give courts tools to deter domestic and international abductions, including travel-document surrender and cooperation across states; supporters said it would be used rarely but could prevent severe outcomes.
The House Judiciary Committee opened a hearing on Senate Bill 21 26, the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, a model law adopted by 18 states designed to give courts specific prevention tools when there is a credible risk a child may be taken out of the state or country by a parent or other actor.
The bill matters because it offers preventive measures—travel restrictions, surrender of passports or other travel documents, limits on removing a child from the state or country and, in imminent-danger cases, a warrant authorizing temporary physical custody—that supporters said can deter abduction before it happens and reduce the need for costly recovery efforts later.
Gail Hagerty, a uniform law commissioner and retired district court judge, testified the act centralizes definitions and procedures for prevention and encourages court-to-court cooperation consistent with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. "Child abduction is one of the most frightening, terrifying things a family can deal with," Hagerty told the committee, and the measure aims to deter domestic and international abductions by parents or others on their behalf.
Hagerty described the factors a court would weigh, including prior abduction attempts, threats, travel-document acquisition, ties to another country and whether the respondent might take the child to a country not party to the Hague Convention. If imminent danger is shown, the statute allows a court to issue a warrant to take physical custody or direct law enforcement to find and return a child.
Committee members asked how the act would have applied in past high-profile international recoveries; Hagerty said the statute is intended to add preventive options so families and courts can act earlier rather than relying only on remedies after an abduction.
No vote was taken. Testimony and committee questions focused on the act’s narrow, preventive scope and how courts would apply the listed risk factors before ordering intrusive measures. Supporters said the law would likely be used infrequently but could avert severe emotional harm by preventing abduction.
