[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     WORDS OF POSITIVE INSPIRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 22, 1997

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address 
the topic of human life. I am deeply concerned about the lack of 
concern for what the Declaration of Independence calls the unalienable 
* * * Right to Life * * *. Our society today has too often ignored the 
sanctity of human life to the point of relegating it to someone else's 
choice. Trivializing human life to this extent debases our culture and 
erodes our fundamental respect for the self-evident right to life. As 
such I would like to relay the views of a constituent of mine from 
Greeley, CO, Miss Sonni Biundo. Her words have powerful meaning, and I 
think ought to positively inspire our colleagues here today assembled:

       My whole life I was programmed to be pro-choice. I was told 
     that as a woman it was my duty to protect women's rights--
     this included, most of all the right to have an abortion. I 
     entered and finished college a pro-choice activist. I felt 
     that no one had the right to tell me what to do with my body. 
     I thought that pro-life activists who protested at abortion 
     clinics on the nightly news were out of touch with reality, 
     and that the poor women who joined the pro-life fight were 
     simply brainwashed and could not think for themselves. What I 
     didn't understand is when life begins.
       That is the essential difference, and what ultimately 
     divides the pro-choice and pro-life camps. As I have grown 
     older, and hopefully wiser, I have begun to understand when 
     life begins--at conception. Therefore, I am not letting 
     government intrude on your life and instruct you on what you 
     can and cannot do with your body--I am asking government to 
     protect the life of a human being who has no voice. If our 
     society cannot protect the most vulnerable in it, then where 
     are we going?
       Ask yourself some simple questions. Why is it a tragedy 
     when someone you love suffers a miscarriage? Why do we have a 
     name chosen for a child before it is born? Why do we touch a 
     pregnant woman's stomach to feel movement? Why do we bring 
     pictures from an ultrasound in to work to show our 
     colleagues?
       Before my nephew was born, I wondered what he would look 
     like, what he would be good at, the sports he'd like, if he 
     would be tall or short--what his dreams would be. I looked at 
     my sister and her husband and wondered about the miracle they 
     had created, and prayed he would have all the love he needed 
     to get through life. I asked these questions at the very 
     first movement, when all I could see on the ultrasound was a 
     kidney shaped mass. He was already a child to me, already a 
     human being with all the rights that he enjoys now.
       Do I believe you are immoral for having an abortion? Yes, 
     but you do not have to answer to me. Only to God. Do I think 
     we can legislate morality? No. When I say it would please me 
     to have abortion outlawed, I am not pleased because I have 
     made you agree with me. I do not think I have made you a 
     ``moral'' person by making you conform to my standards. I am 
     pleased because a child who deserves a chance has it. A 
     chance that we all got and have taken for granted, by simply 
     being alive.

  Mr. Speaker, these words are a good indication of the positive 
inspiration our country needs. It is crucial for us as a nation to rise 
above the selfish and politically expedient trend pervading our culture 
and restore the standard of a paramount value placed upon the lives of 
all human beings.

                          ____________________