[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 1, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2001

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this misguided bill.
  Let me make something perfectly clear from the outset: The loss or 
harm to a woman and her fetus is absolutely devastating to the woman 
and her family. Those who injure or kill a pregnant woman and her fetus 
should be severely punished, and families should have the legal tools 
to have their loss recognized. We will offer a substitute that does 
that, and I believe that the Lofgren substitute demonstrates very 
clearly that there is a lot of common ground on this issue if we would 
only look for that instead of looking for ways to disagree.
  Having said that, let me explain why the approach this bill takes is 
just another thinly veiled attack on a woman's right to choose.
  This bill would give a fetus the same legal recognition as you or I--
for the first time in federal law. Instead of addressing the real 
issues at hand--the horrible pain for a woman who loses a pregnancy to 
a cowardly, violent act--this bill is an ideological marker for the 
anti-choice special interests.
  Frankly, this bill is just another way of writing a Human Life 
Amendment. In fact, the National Right to Life Committee admits that it 
participated in the drafting of the bill, and according to the NRTL 
website, ``[t]he bill challenges that [pro-choice] ideology by 
recognizing the unborn child as a human victim, distinct from the 
mother.''
  If anti-choice members of this House want to recognize the fetus as a 
person--do that. Put your money where your mouth is. Bring a Human Life 
Amendment to the floor and let us vote on it. But don't tell pregnant 
women in this country that you're trying to protect them with this bill 
when there are existing state and federal laws to do that and when we 
are willing to join you in addressing the tragic cases when pregnant 
women are attacked. The American people are smarter than you're giving 
them credit for. They know that you're proposing a political statement 
today, not a real solution.
  If you really want to crack down on cowardly criminals who would 
attack a pregnant woman, support the Lofgren substitute. It gets us to 
the same ends, without the overtly political means. And if you're 
serious about protecting women in this country from violence, let's 
fully fund the Violence Against Women Act today.
  VAWA is the most effective way for us to help combat violence against 
women. Every year, over two million American women are physically 
abused by their husbands or boyfriends. A woman is physically abused 
every 15 seconds in this country. And one of every three abused 
children becomes an adult abuser or victim. The Unborn Victims of 
Violence Act will do nothing for these women. But VAWA makes all the 
difference in the world.
  My colleagues, please do not be fooled. The Unborn Victims of 
Violence Act is not about protecting pregnant women from violent acts. 
Rather, it is yet another anti-choice attempt to undermine a woman's 
right to choose.
  I have stood on the House floor many times and asked my colleagues to 
work with me to find ways to help women improve their health, plan 
their pregnancies, and have healthier children. It is tragic that every 
day over 400 babies are born to mothers who received little or no 
prenatal care, every minute a baby is born to a teen mother, and three 
babies die every hour. And it is tragic that 1 of every 3 women will 
experience domestic violence in her adulthood.
  Instead of finding new ways to revisit the divisive abortion battle, 
Americans want us to focus our efforts on providing women with access 
to prenatal care, affordable contraception, health education and 
violence prevention. If we truly want to protect women and their 
pregnancies from harm, then let us work together to enact legislation 
to help women have healthy babies and protect them from violent 
abusers.
  Please vote no on H.R. 503.

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