[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 42 (Thursday, April 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 2000

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                               speech of

                            HON. JIM DeMINT

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 5, 2000

  Mr. DeMint.  Mr. Speaker, during the great debates between Senator 
Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln in 1858, Lincoln stood before 
thousands of hostile spectators to contest the moral issue of slavery 
in America. He warned of a nation that treaded upon the principles of 
equality and freedom, ``Let us,'' Lincoln said, ``united as one people 
throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that 
all men are created equal.'' His words, and dreams, renewed the heart 
of the nation to fulfill our promise to all people no matter their 
color, creed, or class.
  Today, we too stand at a moment of decision. The debate on banning 
partial birth abortion provides us an opportunity of a lifetime--to 
protect the most innocent lives among us. This debate strikes at the 
very heart of who we are as a people--the core of our conscience and 
the character of our nation. It is our time, just as Lincoln answered 
the call of his convictions, to defend the defenseless and speak for 
those without voices.
  What a privilege it is to make the right decision today.
  Some in this House have cheapened this debate through distortions and 
distractions--not willing to unveil the reality that only seconds and 
inches separate thousands of children from life and death every year.
  In Lincoln's time, our nation deemed slaves sixty-percent human. We 
shackled their legs and beat their backs. We disposed of them as mere 
chattel, auctioning them like cattle and demanded they give their life 
and labor for our prosperity. Are we much different today? We deem 
innocent babies--with kicking feet and beating hearts--less than human. 
We dispose of them as useless, in pretentious compassion discarding 
them as ``unwanted.''
  Abortion is the civil rights issue of our time. This partial-birth 
abortion ban rescues our children from the slavery of choice.
  I ask this body to make the right choice. Join Lincoln in the 
hallmarks of history as people who shall once more stand up declaring 
that all men are created equal. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support 
of the ban on partial birth abortions.

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