[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MOST PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS ARE ELECTIVE

  (Mr. CANADY of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it has been widely reported that 
partial-birth abortions are extremely rare. Pro-abortion groups claim 
there are no more than 500 partial-birth abortions per year, and they 
are only performed in extreme circumstances, such as when the child is 
severely deformed or the mother is in grave danger.
  These myths are finally being dispelled. The Record newspaper 
reported that a single abortion clinic in New Jersey performs 1,500 
partial-birth abortions each year. One doctor was quoted as saying that 
``only a minuscule amount'' of partial-birth abortions are performed 
for medical reasons.
  The Washington Post also reported yesterday that most partial-birth 
abortions performed are elective. I quote: ``[T]he `typical' patients 
tend to be young, low-income women * * * whose reasons for waiting so 
long to end their pregnancies are rarely medical.''
  The evidence is overwhelming: the vast majority of partial-birth 
abortions are elective. I ask you, how long will we continue to allow 
children in this country to be partially delivered and then killed?

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