[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 138 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9133-H9134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 2003

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, today the House will vote on a historic 
bill, the conference report on the partial-birth abortion ban. As a 
physician who has delivered over 3,000 babies, I am personally opposed 
to abortion, but in

[[Page H9134]]

particular the only reason to select the partial-birth abortion 
procedure is to ensure that the baby is dead when delivered. As a 
physician, I recognize that serious complications can occur during the 
last trimester of pregnancy. However, if the mother's health dictates 
that the pregnancy must be concluded and a normal birth is not 
possible, the baby may be delivered by C-section. Whether the infant 
lives or dies depends upon the severity of the medical complications 
and the degree of prematurity, but that outcome is dictated by the 
disease process itself. The fate of the infant during the partial-birth 
abortion procedure is predetermined by the nature of the procedure 
performed and is uniformly fatal.
  In 1995, a 12-doctor panel representing the American Medical 
Association recommended banning partial-birth abortion, referring to it 
as, and I quote, basically repulsive, close quote. I agree with the 
AMA's panel. The procedure is repulsive and after today will be 
illegal.

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