[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 63 (Wednesday, May 14, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4504-S4505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 1997

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, I rise to speak about something of 
great sadness in our Nation. Tomorrow we will take a vote on partial-
birth abortion. I want to speak about that particular issue if I could 
this evening from a particular perspective that I think might be 
somewhat different from folks who might look at this as a sterile 
procedure, a procedure that we may consider banning. I would like to 
talk about what it says of our culture, what this procedure that is 
being used today says about us. Is the loss of love in our culture 
actually so great that we could actually kill a child and explain it 
away? I think this is actually how we ought to look at this debate on 
this issue.
  I oppose the partial-birth abortion procedure being conducted in 
United States other than in cases of loss of life of the mother, and 
then I think we need to clearly say that this is available in cases of 
loss of life of the mother. My wife and I have three children, and I 
would hate to think that she would be put in a spot where she could not 
have access to a medical procedure that she desperately needed for her 
own life. But that is taken care of in this bill and there is an 
allowance for it. In the case where the life of the mother is at risk, 
this procedure is allowed, and that is proper and as it should be. We 
allow that to take place.
  What I want to talk about more is that we have so many of these 
abortions happening in this country. What does it say about the culture 
and our own loss of care and our own loss of love? What does it say 
about us that this procedure is even allowed.
  I want to point out to this body some of the things that have 
happened to American culture over the past 30 years that I think point 
out we have lost the care for other individuals and we have lost the 
compassion for others and even for babies.
  Let us look at this chart, if I could share it with you. We are 
looking at child abuse and neglect reports in America, and this is 1976 
to 1995. We are looking at numbers of reports in the millions. We are 
looking at about 600,000 in 1976, which is wholly too much, we are 
looking at 3 million, over 3 million in 1995.
  The growth that has taken place during that period of time, what does 
that say about a loss of care and a loss of compassion in our society 
and in our culture?
  I want to look at this next chart, violent crime offenses in our 
society. Look where we were in 1960. This is

[[Page S4505]]

rate per 100,000 individuals. For every 100,000 individuals in America, 
we had about 160 violent crime offenses in 1960.
  Where are we today? In 1993, the latest we have numbers for, we are 
at 746 per 100,000 people. From 160 to 746 during that period of time 
of roughly about 30, 33 years.
  I only point these out to ask, what is it today about our culture? I 
think our culture is in a great depression, that we are violent, we are 
not caring for our children, we are not doing the right things for 
them, and we are not doing the right things to try to correct it. We 
have to rebuild the culture, and I think we rebuild it by loving and 
caring for each other, and we will.
  To me, that is what this debate is about. It is about banning a 
particular procedure used on babies, and it is about saying we should 
not, in a civilized society, allow this. We should not, in looking at 
this sort of violence and lack of caring and lack of respect in this 
society, let something like this go on. It is about those who are 
involved and it is about our conscience being pricked by this.

  We see these charts--Senator Santorum has pointed to them --about the 
child being born, and we get uncomfortable; we don't like that because 
it is striking our conscience and it is saying it is not civilized for 
us to be doing and continuing this procedure. We see it and we do not 
like it. If we saw it happening to an animal, we would not like it, and 
we certainly feel that way towards a child.
  That is why I urge my colleagues and the American people, let us 
reject this procedure as part of rebuilding our culture, as part of 
restaking this ground. We need to have is compassion and care and love 
for the most defenseless in our culture.
  This is a child we are talking about. We must start turning these 
trends around and start caring for the most defenseless in this 
situation.
  I think it is clear that we are going to pass this bill in the 
Senate. I hope we will pass it by an overwhelming majority and that we 
build on this from this point forward, saying let us change this 
culture. Let us bring it back to caring. Let us bring it back to 
compassion and love for everybody, especially the most defenseless.
  With that, I yield back my time.
  Mr. ASHCROFT. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brownback). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________