[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 42 (Monday, March 12, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2404-H2405]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2007, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor to commend my 
colleagues' attention to a resolution that I recently introduced 
honoring the work of pregnancy resource centers.
  According to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, about half of 
American women will face an unplanned pregnancy, and at current rates 
more than one-third will have an abortion by the time they are 45 years 
old. Of the women who have had abortions, 90 percent indicate they 
would have preferred other options had they simply known about them.
  The tragedy and irony in many situations is that most women are 
flooded with a pro-abortion message, but are rarely offered any other 
message of choice. Rather, unknowing clients are led to believe that 
abortion is the only solution to their problem.
  Through costly advertising, young women go into abortion clinics and 
they are assured that help is only a few hundred dollars away. Harmful 
consequences of abortion are minimized or simply ignored. Alternatives, 
like parenting or adoption, are not encouraged; in fact, they are very 
rarely mentioned. Sadly, my colleagues, it is only later that they 
learn there are indeed alternatives.
  Desperately trying to spread this message to young women are the 
2,500 pregnancy resource centers across the United States. Through 
education and support, pregnancy resource centers meet women's 
emotional and physical needs. They provide one-on-one counseling 
regarding the facts about adoption, abortion and parenting so that the 
client may make a wise and informed decision about her pregnancy. 
Centers are dedicated to helping each woman resolve her situation in a 
way that equips her with better life skills for her future. Practical 
help, like parenting classes, support groups, education and job skill 
classes are offered through many pregnancy resource centers as well. 
Maternity clothes, baby needs and even temporary housing is also 
offered. Some pregnancy resource

[[Page H2405]]

centers have full medical services on their premises, and unlike 
abortion clinics, these centers offer support for women suffering from 
post-abortion syndrome.
  For those women who have undergone an abortion, the devastation can 
be real and ongoing if she does not receive help. Most centers are 
committed to the healing, body and soul, of women who have suffered 
from an abortion. They offer medical and counseling services and stand 
alongside these women in the healing process.
  Life-affirming pregnancy centers provide an example of love and 
compassion to women and their unborn babies. These centers have been 
upholding the values of all human life, born and unborn, for several 
decades. Women are increasingly turning to these centers for physical, 
psychological, emotional and of course spiritual help. They are always 
treated with the utmost dignity and respect and provided with accurate, 
up-to-date information in order to make informed decisions about their 
pregnancy, sexual health and relationships. Because everyone should 
have access to this information, all services are free of charge.
  I am honored to represent one such center in my hometown of Ocala, 
Florida. The Women's Pregnancy Center has been serving the people 
faithfullly in Marion County for 22 years. This center serves nearly 
1,500 women a year of all ages and backgrounds. They serve these women 
and men faithfully and discreetly.
  My colleagues, in today's culture abortion is too often the first 
thought for women facing unplanned pregnancy, but there are 
alternatives, and pregnancy resource centers can provide them. These 
centers are not only the most strategic and effective, but often the 
most needed of the forces engaged in the defense of the unborn. It is 
fitting that we recognize these courageous and struggling agencies that 
seek to bring purpose to the surprises of life. Never are these needs 
greatest than in the smallest of family, a mother and her growing baby.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in providing support for the more 
than 2,500 crisis pregnancy centers around the United States of 
America. The good work of these centers merits our recognition, and 
their compassionate staff deserve our admiration and praise.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this resolution and 
demonstrate their support for pregnancy resource centers and their tens 
of thousands of volunteer staff who are encouraging the protection and 
value of all human life in America.

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