[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 177 (Thursday, November 9, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2153-E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                      HON. BLANCHE LAMBERT LINCOLN

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 1, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1833) to 
     amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-birth 
     abortions:

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. Chairman, I agree with the underlying premise of 
this legislation that late-term abortions should not be performed on 
healthy, viable fetuses, and because of this I have chosen to support 
this bill. However, I think of H.R. 1833 as an abstract idea, and not 
the final word on this controversial subject. I have concerns about the 
vagueness of the language in the bill, as well as the lack of medical 
terminology when referencing obvious medical procedures. Although I am 
pro-choice, this does not necessarily mean that I am pro-abortion. I am 
concerned that a woman's right to the safest medical care possible and 
her constitutional right to choice in these tragic cases is being 
jeopardized. It is my hope that if this bill is passed by the Senate 
and goes to conference, that a more moderate approach 

[[Page E 2154]]
which includes carefully defined language and the use of medical 
terminology where applicable will be the result. Furthermore, I feel 
that it is imperative that exceptions for the life, as well as health 
of the mother should be included in the body of this bill.
  The subject of this legislation focuses us on the most extreme and 
rare forms of abortion. As a woman I am very conscious of women's 
health issues and I am thankful for the progress that has been made on 
behalf of women, especially in the area of safe pregnancies and 
deliveries. But, I am now also aware of the tragic circumstances in 
which some of these termination procedures are performed and their 
profound physical and psychological effects on the entire family, 
particularly the mother.
  My heart goes out to those women and their families that have had to 
make the devastating choice to end a late-term pregnancy which was 
wanted. These families have chosen this path because the fetus in the 
mother's womb is incompatible with life and doomed to die a painful 
death in the hours or days after birth, or die before delivery which 
would create extreme health problems for the mother. This situation is 
as physically, mentally, and emotionally traumatic as anything that I 
could ever imagine. The availability of this surgical procedure allows 
the mother the choice between risking debilitating infections or even 
her life, versus preserving another opportunity to bring a child into 
this world.
  Not only do I bring a woman's perspective to this debate, but as the 
wife of an obstetrician, I am also somewhat versed in the medical 
community's approach to these most extreme procedures. I am assured 
that this procedure is not performed often and certainly not without 
pursuing every other option available before this course of action is 
decided upon.
  I certainly pray that I am never in the position to have to make a 
personal decision of this magnitude. However, in such an unlikely 
event, I want to know that my right to decide about my life and the 
life of my unborn child is not hindered by a government grown too large 
to understand human suffering. This is a decision that should be made 
between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her Creator.
  I believe that we members of a civilized society should agree that 
so-called partial-birth abortions are horrible under any circumstances. 
They should be banned except in instances where the alternative is even 
more horrible.

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