[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 7 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 INTRODUCTION OF ULTRASOUND LEGISLATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 23, 2002, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this morning to alert 
Members to a piece of legislation that I will introduce today, and I 
hope they will consider it. It is a bill that will be of benefit to 
health clinics all over this country. Many health clinics that wish to 
provide medical services to unprepared pregnant women are prohibited 
from doing so because of the lack of funds to purchase medical 
equipment. The mother is, therefore, forced to wander from one clinic 
to another in search of the services she so desperately needs. Enabling 
these health clinics to purchase ultrasound equipment would be a 
persuasive push in the direction of transitioning from a health clinic 
to a medical facility.
  Mr. Speaker, the advantages of ultrasound machines are many. It is 
fast and relatively cheap, costing as little as $50 per exam. 
Ultrasound exams are performed at about 10 to 14 weeks of the pregnancy 
and are considered the best way to gauge growth and anatomy before 
birth. Ultrasound can diagnose heart problems in this country in the 
unborn child, find neural tube defects, including spina bifida, and 
determine the position of the placenta. There is now even ultrasound 
equipment that can provide a three-dimensional image that can rotate 
360 degrees to see all the sides of the baby.
  For this reason, Mr. Speaker, I plan to introduce a bill today that 
will authorize Health and Human Services to establish grants for which 
nonprofit health clinics could apply and, if awarded, purchase needed 
ultrasound equipment. This legislation will ensure that doctors can 
provide critical information to mothers in their decision-making 
process regarding their pregnancies. Nothing in this bill makes 
ideology regarding abortion a condition of the grant. Whether a center 
offers abortion or abortion alternatives, the clinic is still eligible.
  In the fiery controversy over abortion in America, emotionally 
charged rhetoric clouds the issue and does damage to the efforts made 
on behalf of mother and child. No matter what one's conviction is 
concerning abortion, we can all agree that the mother deserves as much 
information as is available in making this solemn decision. Information 
is the best weapon in defusing the volatile discussion and returning us 
to our first concern, which is the health of the mother and the child. 
The ultrasound is a valuable tool in expanding the debate beyond 
traditional platitudes on both sides of the argument.
  Modern medicine has provided us with a window into the womb. These 
advances in technology empower women with as much information as 
possible regarding her pregnancy. The goal of this legislation is to 
provide women who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy with the 
full scope of information such that they may make a fully informed 
decision.
  This bill is about the dissemination of information. This bill is 
about extending more free services to women and about making available 
this vital technology to the poor and, of course, to the rich.
  Mr. Speaker, there are times when people of good faith who differ on 
an issue can come together and find a place to agree. I believe this 
legislation brings us beyond the shrill arguments regarding abortion 
and makes a meaningful step forward, a meaningful effort to care for 
the mother and child and bring more information to the woman.
  I urge the Members to support my bill.

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