[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H4958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE HAND OF HOPE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, it is often repeated that a 
picture is worth a thousand words. A very powerful picture exemplifying 
that statement began circulating across America this last November. I 
would cite the commentary that accompanied it.
  It should be the picture of the year, or perhaps the picture of the 
decade, but it will not be. In fact, unless Members obtain a copy of 
the U.S. paper in which it was published, they probably never saw it.
  The picture was that of a 21-week-old unborn baby boy named Samuel 
Alexander Armas. He was being operated on by a surgeon by the name of 
Dr. Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida, and would 
not have survived if removed from his mother's womb. But little 
Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, was an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta and 
she knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at 
Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these 
special operations while the baby is still in the womb.
  During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via the C-
section, and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. 
Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, this amazing little baby 
reached out his tiny but fully developed hand through the incision and 
firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying 
that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of 
his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was 
completely frozen and completely immobile.
  The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The 
editors title the picture ``hand of hope.'' They said that this tiny 
little hand seemed to emerge to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner, 
as if thanking him for the gift of life. Little Samuel's mother said 
they wept for days when they saw the picture. She said the photo 
reminds us that pregnancy is not about disability or an illness, it is 
about a little person. The operation was 100 percent successful, and 
little Samuel was born in perfect health.
  Mr. Speaker, abortion on demand has taken the lives of 43 million 
little Americans. That is 10,000 times as many innocent lives as were 
taken in the tragedy of 9-11. Before the sun sets in America today, 
4,000 more will have died, nameless and alone.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for those of us on both sides of this aisle 
to begin to ask ourselves the real question, and the real question 
simply is this: does abortion take the life of a child? If it does not, 
then it is a nonissue. But if abortion really does kill a baby, then 
those of us in the seat of freedom standing here, given the charge to 
protect the innocent, are living in the midst of the greatest human 
holocaust in the history of humanity.
  I would suggest, Mr. Speaker, if we lose the courage to protect the 
innocent in this place we will never find the will or the courage to 
protect any kind of liberty for anyone.
  Mr. Speaker, today we were asked to protect a very small number of 
those children who were already partially born and only moments away 
from taking their very first breath. It beggars human imagination that 
voting to support such basic compassionate humanity is even debatable, 
and that it got 100 votes to the contrary is a disgrace beyond 
expression.
  Mr. Speaker, the tiny hand of hope reaches out to all of us today and 
asks only for mercy. God help us all to hear that little voice in our 
own hearts.

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