[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 12 (Monday, January 22, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 INTRODUCTION OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE ACT

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                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 22, 2007

  Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, one of the most fascinating and popular 
shows on television today, In the Womb on the National Geographic 
Channel, provides viewers with amazingly detailed footage of unborn 
children growing and interacting in utero, Watching these babies suck 
their thumbs, smile and cry has led many to question why a nation, that 
can spend millions of dollars searching for life on other planets, is 
not able to discern life in the beating heart of an unborn child. For 
many years now, I have introduced an important piece of legislation 
that fulfills what I believe to be one of our most important 
obligations as elected leaders of this great Nation; protecting our 
unborn children from harm. I am proud to once again be introducing the 
Right to Life Act and I am optimistic of its future.
  Unfortunately, over 1.3 million abortions are performed in the United 
States each year and over 38 million have been performed since abortion 
was legalized in 1973. Mr. Speaker, this is a national tragedy. It is 
the duty of all Americans to protect our children--born and unborn. 
This bill, the Right to Life Act, would provide blanket protection to 
all unborn children from the moment of conception.
  In 1973, the United States Supreme Court, in the landmark case of Roe 
v. Wade, refused to determine when human life begins and therefore 
found nothing to indicate that the unborn are persons protected by the 
Fourteenth Amendment. In the decision, however, the Court did concede 
that, ``If the suggestion of personhood is established, the 
appellants'' case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life 
would be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment.'' Considering 
Congress has the constitutional authority to uphold the Fourteenth 
Amendment, coupled by the fact that the Court admitted that if 
personhood were to be established, the unborn would be protected, it 
can be concluded that we have the authority to determine when life 
begins.
  The Right to Life Act does what the Supreme Court refused to do in 
Roe v. Wade and recognizes the personhood of the unborn for the purpose 
of enforcing 4 important provisions in the Constitution: (1) Sec. 1 of 
the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting States from depriving any person 
of life; (2) Sec. 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment providing Congress the 
power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provision of this 
amendment; (3) the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, which 
concurrently prohibits the Federal Government from depriving any person 
of life; and (4) Article I, Section 8, giving Congress the power to 
make laws necessary and proper to enforce all powers in the 
Constitution.
  This legislation will protect millions of future children by 
prohibiting any State or Federal law that denies the personhood of the 
unborn, thereby effectively overturning Roe v. Wade. I firmly believe 
that life begins at conception and that the preborn child deserves all 
the rights and protections afforded an American citizen. This measure 
will recognize the unborn child as a human being and protect the fetus 
from harm. The Right to Life Act will finally put our unborn children 
on the same legal footing as all other persons and I hope my colleagues 
will join me in support of this important effort.

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