[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 138 (Tuesday, December 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2167-E2168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        REMOVE WELDON REFUSAL CLAUSE FROM OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 7, 2004

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, last month, the Republican majority pushed 
through Congress a $388 billion omnibus spending bill that very few 
people had a chance to read.
  The Weldon provision was slipped into this enormous bill which 
severely alters the state of reproductive healthcare in this country. 
It gags America's doctor's and it jeopardize's women's health.
  Without education and without knowledge and information, women are 
being forced to make life-changing decisions about their reproductive 
health.
  This is not only wrong, it's un-American. The Weldon provision is 
nothing but another attack on a woman's right to choose in an effort to 
dismantle Roe v. Wade. After all, why is it necessary?

[[Page E2168]]

  Federal law already protects medical professionals who refuse to take 
abortion training.
  Is this what American women can look forward to under the new 
Republican ``mandate?''
  The rolling back of their fundamental rights, an elimination of their 
healthcare options, and an undermining of their representation in 
Congress.
  I, for one, certainly hope not, but this action does not look good 
and should put us all on alert.
  I urge my colleagues to remove the Weldon provision from the FY05 
Omnibus spending bill.

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