[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SUPPORT PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Funderburk] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker, I want to strongly express my support 
for the partial birth abortion ban. I consider this procedure a 
horrible one that people would not support if they saw it.
  Mr. Speaker, President Clinton's veto of the partial birth abortion 
ban, which passed Congress with overwhelming support, shows once again 
his absolute loyalty to the most extreme abortion advocates. H.R. 1833 
passed both Houses with wider margins than almost any bill this 
session.
  Polls have revealed that the vast majority of Americans, more than 
two-thirds, support restrictions on abortion. Among just women, the 
numbers are even higher who support restrictions, especially in these 
late term abortions. These numbers tell a story that every man and 
woman of conscience understands. People do not want to see life 
casually ended, and they do not accept abortion as the highest and best 
offering of our Constitution. They are troubled by a 1.5 million-person 
death count every year. They are even more troubled by a gruesome 
procedure covered by this legislation, an abortion in which a child's 
brains are removed and the baby is systematically executed as it comes 
down the birth canal.

                              {time}  1715

  This is one of the most horrific medical procedures in the world 
today. President Clinton has disappointed and deeply offended one of 
the largest voting blocks in the American electorate. The overwhelming 
success of pro-life candidates in the last election, both Democrat and 
Republican, underscores the troubled electorate's concern for run away 
abortion rights turned into societal wrongs.
  Bill Clinton has again aligned himself with the most extremist 
elements of the abortion lobby, those who see no value in life poised 
on the edge of birth. The President said he wants abortion to be rare, 
but he seems to see no life worth saving, not even a fully viable child 
whose living brain tissue issue is vacuumed out causing painful death.
  Partial birth abortions take place on babies from 20 weeks up until 
40 weeks. The House Committee on the Judiciary has compiled 
documentation of the practice of this procedure by physicians of its 
being used on living human fetuses, of the pain that these children 
likely incur and of its use for elective purposes. In describing one 
such partial birth abortion she witnessed, nurse Brenda Shafer stated, 
the baby's body was moving. His little fingers were clasped together. 
He was kicking his feet all the while his little head was still stuck 
inside.
  In a Christian Coalition letter to Congress, they stated Americans 
across the Nation are now aware of this inhumane practice and please 
cast your vote on the side of protecting these little babies from this 
painful death. Enactment of a ban on partial birth abortions is a key 
element of the Christian Coalition's contract with the American family. 
A partial birth abortion ban act is the right thing to do and I support 
it.

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