[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2203-E2204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                UNBORN CHILD PAIN AWARENESS ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 2006

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this inflammatory 
and misleading piece of legislation.
  The bill before us requires that women seeking abortions be given a 
brochure written by Congress regarding the capability of a developing 
fetus to feel pain. It requires physicians to provide this script to 
their patients even if the doctor does not believe it to be accurate or 
in the patient's best interest.
  The text of this brochure was not written by or in consultation with 
the nation's leading physicians. In fact, the sponsor's attempt to 
impose his values on every woman seeking an abortion in this country is 
opposed by many physician organizations, including the

[[Page E2204]]

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American 
Academy of Physician Assistants, the American Public Health 
Association, and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners.
  This bill is one last attempt in this Congress to use the emotional, 
complicated subject of abortion as a cloak for what the sponsors of 
this bill consistently do: manipulate medical practice and scientific 
research to conform to their own beliefs and moral agenda.
  And when science doesn't support their rhetoric, instead of opening 
their minds and acting from a place of compassion, they attack 
physicians who disagree with them, demonize women and families who make 
the decision about abortion, and deny evidence-based medicine.
  It is just this kind of extreme interference in Americans' lives and 
their medical care that voters around the nation rejected--decisively--
on Election Day.
  Americans look to us to examine issues thoroughly and with great 
care, befitting the high honor it is to serve in this body. Passing 
this bill won't do a single thing to advance the cause we should all 
share: to create a country, a society and a culture where every 
pregnancy is intended and every child is wanted, prepared for and 
cherished.
  Congress has no right to legislate how doctors care for their 
patients, to substitute ideology for scientific evidence, or to 
penalize physicians for legal and responsible patient care.
  I urge my colleagues to reject this bill and this approach to an 
issue that's difficult for many of us. There is another way and, I 
would suggest, a better way to help the families of this country have 
healthy pregnancies and strong families.

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