[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 22, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H378-H383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ROE V. WADE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, this is the 35th anniversary of
Roe versus Wade, and tonight I would like to recognize Congressman
Chris Smith, who has been a committed champion to protect the unborn
for as long as he has remained a Member of this body. So I yield now to
Congressman Smith.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today, 35 years after the
infamous Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion on demand
throughout pregnancy, we mourn the estimated 50 million innocent girls
and boys whose lives were cut off by abortion, a staggering loss of
children's lives, equal to six times the total number of all people,
young and old, living in my home State of New Jersey.
Someday, Mr. Speaker, future generations of Americans will look back
on us and wonder how and why such a rich and seemingly enlightened
society, so blessed and endowed with the capacity to protect and
enhance vulnerable human life, could have instead so aggressively
promoted death to children and the exploitation of women by abortion.
They will note with keen sadness that some of our most prominent
politicians and media icons often spoke of human and civil rights,
while precluding virtually all protection to the most persecuted
minority in the world today: unborn children.
On Sunday, Senator Barak Obama criticized Americans for both our
moral deficit and what he called our ``empathy deficit'' and called
upon us to be our brothers' and sisters' keepers.
{time} 1945
Can Senator Obama not see, appreciate or understand that the abortion
culture that he and others so assiduously promote lacks all empathy for
unborn children, be they black, white, Latino or Asian, and is at best
profoundly misguided when it comes to their mothers? Why does
dismembering a child with sharp knives, pulverizing a child with
powerful suction devices more powerful than 20 to 30 times the average
cleaning machine, vacuum machine, or chemically poisoning a baby with
any number of toxic chemicals fail to elicit so much as a scintilla of
empathy, moral outrage, mercy or compassion by America's liberal elite?
Abortion destroys the very life of our ``brothers and sisters,'' and
the proabortion movement is the quintessential example of an ``empathy
deficit.''
Mr. Speaker, we need to be blunt. Abortion is violence against
children. It is extreme child abuse. To strip away the euphemism, it is
cruelty to children. Sadly, abortion is not only legal until birth, but
the daily perpetrators of this terrible injustice are massively
subsidized by liberal politicians who enrich the abortion industry with
taxpayer funds.
In 2008, the largest abortion provider in the Nation, Planned
Parenthood, continued to receive huge amounts of taxpayer funds. Some
time ago on the floor, Mr. Speaker, I asked Americans, I asked my
colleagues, and suggested it was time to take a second look at Planned
Parenthood, ``Child Abuse, Incorporated.'' Every year they abort over
265,000 children in their clinics, a huge and staggering, stunning
number of child deaths. And yet they get massive amounts of Federal
funds and local funds.
Mr. Speaker, there are at least two victims in every abortion. It is
time to recognize and accept the inconvenient truth that abortion
exploits women.
Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, has had
two abortions. Today she has joined the growing coalition of women who
deeply regret their abortions and are part of a group called Silent No
More. Out of deep personal pain and compassion for others, they
challenge us to respect, protect and tangibly love both mother and the
child. The women of Silent No More give post-abortive women a safe
place to grieve and a road map to reconciliation. And to society at
large, these brave women compel us to rethink and reassess the chief
sophistry of the abortion culture. Reflecting on their famous uncle's
speech, the ``I Have a Dream'' speech, Dr. Alveda King asks us, ``How
can the `Dream' survive if we murder the children?''
Finally, 35 years after Roe, the pro-life ranks today have swelled
with abortion survivors, women who tell their stories with great
bravery and candor. I remember hearing a woman right outside of the
Supreme Court who, while she was actually getting the abortion, said to
the doctor, she was only partially sedated, said, ``It is trying to
move.'' She said she wanted to get up off of that table and run out the
door, and the nurses practically screamed at her and said, ``It is too
late. The abortion is already underway.'' So many others who have
actually seen the child after being aborted, very often they whisk the
baby away so that there is no contact made, who then tell the story of
the nightmares. Again, the Silent No More campaign helps these women
reconnect and find reconciliation and hope for their shattered lives.
[[Page H379]]
Today, at the March for Life, the ranks of the pro-life movement was
filled with young people. I have gone to that march each year for 35
years. I have never seen more young people speaking out passionately,
all ethnicities represented, young boys and young girls, teenagers and
young adults, who say we are going to be, and are, the pro-life
generation. And they have certainly reason to react that way. Every
third member of their generation has died from abortion.
Mr. Speaker, finally, I hope this Congress takes a long and hard
second look at the glib euphemisms that are used to promote abortion,
the marketing strategies, the polls that have driven this terrible
issue forward, and strip it all away. Look at the deed itself: chemical
poisoning, dismemberment, partial-birth abortion awakened at least some
Members to the cruelty of abortion. Connect the dots. Every method is
an act of violence. And again, there are two victims in every abortion,
mother and child.
I truly believe that united in prayer, united in fasting, and with a
lot of hard work, just like the abolitionists of old, who said that you
cannot discount the humanity of people because of the color of their
skin, well, the dependency or the immaturity of a child also should not
become a disqualifier. America's dark night of child slaughter will
some day, and some day soon, Mr. Speaker, come to an end.
I yield back to Mr. Franks and thank him for his extraordinary
leadership on this human rights issue.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to Mr. Walberg.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and good friend from
Arizona for the opportunity to speak tonight. I just came back from
Iraq and Afghanistan this past week, and on the way back from Kabul to
the airport, I looked out of our window of the vehicle we were riding
in and I saw two young children running alongside the vehicle, as
children will do, having fun together. They were racing each other and
racing our vehicle. I looked in their eyes, and I saw nothing but what
I would see in normal little children's eyes having fun, except these
two young children had smudged faces and tattered clothes that they
were playing in, in a war zone. And I thought to myself, these two
little children could be just like a number of children we have read
about, through the barbarism of individuals for a particular philosophy
would have ammunitions strapped to them, and then, in a barbaric,
gruesome way, their lives taken.
On this day, the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we live in a
civilized country, well educated, cleaned up, sanitized, and yet,
because of a lie, there are innocent women, and indeed birth fathers,
as well, who are caught in a lie and a trap that causes them to, in a
sanitized way to some degree, yet the ultimate outcome is the same, to
snuff out innocent lives for no reason that justifies that taking
place. Today marks the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since that
time, nearly 50 million abortions have been performed. That is a
staggering number which intensifies when we recognize each abortion
consists of one innocent life snuffed out and at least one other life
that is wounded.
While I respect the fact that others may disagree, I believe that
human life begins at conception. That means that almost 50 million
lives have been extinguished since 1973. Because of Roe v. Wade, we
have learned that a reckless majority on the Supreme Court can visit
untold destruction and pain on us as a Nation if they search for
results in individual cases that are outside the scope and text of the
history of the Constitution.
We have learned that the activist justices can find ``penumbras,
formed by emanations'' in the Bill of Rights as a basis for
establishing new constitutional rights that are not found anywhere in
the text or history of the Constitution, as Justice Douglas
ridiculously claimed in the case of Griswold v. Connecticut, a
precedent for Roe v. Wade.
Sadly, unelected activist judges with lifetime appointments continue
to make law rather than to apply the law as it is written. As elected
officials, it is our right to make law, and it certainly is not the
right of judges and justices to do so. Rather, they must follow the law
as we, the accountable decision makers, have written it.
We have engaged in a long struggle and must continue in that struggle
to ensure that the Supreme Court and our lower Federal courts are
stocked with people who abide by the text and the history of the
Constitution instead of acting as super-legislators in making new law.
Mr. Speaker, today, on the 35th anniversary of that tragic ruling, my
heart is grieved; yet, it is heartened. Though we mourn for lives that
could have been, we see significant progress in the fight to defend
human life. Just today, a bipartisan majority in the Michigan Senate
voted to ban partial birth abortion. Abortions have declined by nearly
20 percent in the past 15 years, and every year Americans have become
increasingly pro-life. I, along with millions of Americans, remain
committed to saving the unborn and upholding the right to life our
Nation was founded upon. Perhaps the tide is finally turning.
I also call, Mr. Speaker, for an all-out effort of compassion for the
women and the birth fathers who have been caught in the lie of abortion
and have had their lives altered. A loving God offers forgiveness and
hope and healing, and we, His people, can offer no less.
I pledge to continue to work every day to bring back the sanctity of
life to our Nation. And it is heartening to stand here with my
colleagues tonight and with hundreds of thousands of individuals today
on the Mall and speak for life.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the distinguished
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for leading this hour
and for allowing me to be with him tonight and for giving me this time.
I think my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, know that my prior career, my
profession before becoming a Member of Congress 5\1/2\ years ago was I
practiced medicine, and not just as a medical doctor, but as an OB/GYN
specialist. In that specialty for 26 years, I delivered over 5,200
babies during that time. I am very proud to say that I performed no
abortions. But I think it is important for our colleagues, Mr. Speaker,
and for men and women across this country to understand how this Roe v.
Wade came about 35 years ago in 1973.
Prior to that, abortion in many States was illegal. It could not be
performed. In some instances, yes, it was true that women would have
what is known as a criminal abortion done, and sometimes with very
devastating consequences to the woman. If the abortion was done by a
doctor with skills, surgical skills, there probably were no
complications, other than destroying that human life, that little human
life. But if the abortion was performed in an unprofessional, botched
manner, then the life not only of the fetus but also of the woman was
at stake.
When I was an intern at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia,
back in those days in the late 1960s, 1969, 1970, yes, there
occasionally was a patient on the ward suffering from septic shock. And
in one instance I very vividly remember that that patient, that mother
who had had an abortion done and the complications thereof, infection
set in and she died. And these cases were presented across the country
to the Supreme Court eventually, basically, in Roe v. Wade. And then
all of a sudden the Supreme Court said that no State, no State could
proscribe abortion.
That is what we got to in 1973. And since that time, of course, as my
colleague from Michigan just mentioned, something like 48 million lives
have been destroyed in the abortion process, in that so-called safe,
legal process, where the procedures are done by licensed physicians,
and they are done under certain circumstances, maybe in a hospital with
anesthesia, and it is very safe and that no mothers die.
Well, some mothers do die. But without question, some 48 million
little children, potential Members of Congress in fact, lost their
lives by this abortion procedure. And that is why I am so proud to be
here tonight to join with my colleagues, with the gentleman from New
Jersey, Mr. Smith, Mr. Franks, Mr. Davis, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Lamborn and
others to talk about this issue.
{time} 2000
Each of us will have a little bit of time. But I am very grateful to
be
[[Page H380]]
standing here tonight to know that today on the Mall, right here at the
Capitol, we had so many come. I don't know how many thousands of
families came. We had something like 12 or 14 Members of Congress speak
on behalf of life, the life of the infant, the life of the fetus. This
is a very proud day, and it is a very proud evening too for us to stand
here for the sanctity of life.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to focus on a couple of charts that I have
got. The first one, if my colleagues will look, basically says this.
This is a quote from a very important person, and I will mention her in
just a minute. ``Abortion, at any point, was wrong. It was so clear.
Painfully clear.'' That ends the quote. This is from Norma McCorvey,
better known as Jane Roe from Roe v. Wade. In other words, she was the
plaintiff.
Mrs. McCorvey wanted to have an abortion in a State that didn't allow
it, so she was the plaintiff. This quote is taken from her book, ``Won
by Love'' by Norma McCorvey, and she is now a pro-life advocate. She
didn't have that abortion, because by the time Roe v. Wade was passed,
she had gone on and had that little girl, who is in her mid-thirties
now. Mrs. McCorvey, Norma, is also the proud grandmother of two
children. Thank God that she didn't have that abortion.
Listen to what Susan B. Anthony, this is way long, many years ago, in
another century, said even before this issue came up. ``Abortion is a
reflection of our society's failure to meet the needs of women. We are
dedicated to systematically eliminating the root causes that drive
women to abortion.'' That is a quote from Susan B. Anthony.
What I want to point out is that many States now, many States,
including my own State of Georgia, I am very proud that we have passed,
as this poster shows, a ``woman's right to know law,'' required not
just in Georgia, but in 23 States, that women who seek abortions be
fully informed about relevant issues such as, the first bullet point,
medical risk of abortion; the possible detrimental psychological
effects of an abortion; a father's legal responsibility in State laws
for paternal child support; and medical assistance benefits may be
available to prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care.
Mr. Speaker, the Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP, that we
just in the last month reauthorized for an additional 18 months, does
include prenatal care so that women are not forced for financial
reasons to terminate a pregnancy. So this is really what Susan B.
Anthony was talking about so many years ago.
What we are seeing as a result of that, in my last chart that I want
to present, is that over these 35 years, we are seeing a gradual and
actually dramatic drop in the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged
15 to 44. Those women who are most fertile, that peaked at 29 per 1,000
women that age back in 1979. Now the latest statistics in 2005, that
number has dropped down to something like 19.4. So we are making great
progress.
The point that I want to make in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, is we don't
need to continue to destroy life. We need to inform women. We need to
inform women of their choices, the alternatives to destroying a human
life, which in almost every instance they are opposed to. But they are
uninformed, they are frightened, they are scared, they are concerned
about raising a child as a single parent. But if they are given the
opportunity maybe to place that child for adoption, if they know there
is financial help available, if they know that there are counselors who
want to work with them that help them if they decide to have their baby
and be a single parent, if that is the case, these are the things that
we need to be concentrating on, Mr. Speaker.
So as I conclude, I just want to say to the gentleman from Arizona, I
thank him for giving all of us an opportunity tonight to speak on this
hugely important issue. Let's stand for the rights of the unborn. Let's
not be so concerned about some person who is already here, man or
woman, about their property rights guaranteed under the 14th Amendment.
Let's think about what we said in our Declaration of Independence and
think about unalienable rights, such as the right to life. Let's think
about what is in the Charter of the United Nations, that every member
nation is bound to abide by, and that is the sanctity of life. And,
last but not least, what God says in both the New and the Old
Testament, thou shalt not kill; you shall not take another's life. That
is why we stand here tonight, to bring that to our Members.
I yield back to the gentleman from Arizona, and thank him for
allowing me to be part of this.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the distinguished gentleman for his
compelling words.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee,
Mr. David Davis.
Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Franks, thank you for your
leadership on this very important issue.
To many of us across this great land of America, life is an emotional
issue. To many of us, it is a Biblical issue. The Bible actually tells
us that we are knit together in our mother's womb.
Let's go back and just think about a day that we lost a lot of
Americans. Let's go back to September 11th, 2001. If you are listening
across this great land, just think back how you felt on September 11th
when you learned that 3,000 Americans had been killed. Do you remember
where you were? Do you remember how you felt? It was 3,000 Americans
killed that day. I know exactly where I was and I know how I felt.
Now, where were you on September 12th, September the 13th, September
the 14th, September the 15th? Those days, almost 4,000 Americans were
killed, and every day subsequent. We are losing Americans to the tune
of almost 4,000 Americans a day.
Ronald Reagan once said ``abortion is only advocated by persons who
have themselves been born.'' His pro-life position was not limited to
the beginning of life issues, but extended all the way to natural
death. It is clear that Reagan would have stood against pro-assisted
suicide and euthanasia laws. In 1988, he declared ``The right to life
belongs equally to babies in the womb, babies born handicapped and the
elderly and the infirm.''
In the years since our Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade and
declared abortion a constitutional right, the assault Mother Theresa
rightly called the ``war against the child'' has claimed nearly 50
million Americans, 1.2 million every year, and, yes, almost 4,000
babies every day.
Pro-life policies such as parental consent and waiting periods enjoy
tremendous public support, 82 percent and 74 percent respectively.
Washington, this Congress, should deny hundreds of millions of dollars
to Planned Parenthood and abortion centers that promote and perform
abortions here and abroad. The unborn child has the right to life, and
that right should not be taken away.
Roe v. Wade was poorly conceived and morally wrong. This decision
should be overturned. Life begins at conception. An unborn baby should
share the birthright of all Americans, the right to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.
I yield back to the gentleman.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman for his very moving
words. I would now yield to Mr. Lamborn from Colorado.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for
putting this time together and for recognizing me.
Mr. Speaker, today marks the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade
Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in the United States.
Elective abortion, a tragic practice, is the most common medical
procedure performed in the United States. Let me repeat: Abortion is
the most common medical procedure performed in the United States, and
is perpetuated by a perverse logic that the life of an unplanned child
is somehow not of the same value as that of any other child.
A recent study published by the Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry in 2006 indicates that women who have had an abortion have a
much higher incidence of mental health problems, including depression,
anxiety, suicidal behaviors and substance abuse. Abortion can also
cause physical side effects, such as reduced fertility, hemorrhaging,
and even death.
Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize pregnancy care centers around the
country, who defend the lives of the unborn and protect the physical
and psychological health of American
[[Page H381]]
women who find themselves in unplanned pregnancies every year. Through
the support of selfless men and women devoted to a culture of life,
these care centers are able to give concrete, practical assistance to
women, from pregnancy testing to prenatal vitamins, ultrasound imaging
and infant supplies.
Tragically, many women in the United States are told and believe
abortion is the only way. Pregnancy care centers respect these women
and their right to know that there are other options. These facilities
offer guidance for mothers faced with heart-wrenching decisions.
Whether the woman chooses to give the child up for adoption or raise
the baby, pregnancy care centers provide counseling, information and
support.
Pregnancy care centers across the world have and will continue to
reduce abortion rates, save unborn lives, and help women avoid the
psychological and physical damages of abortion.
Tonight, I mourn the 50 million American lives cut short by abortion,
and pray that God continues to protect and strengthen those touched by
this tragic practice. I will be among those working to end it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back to the gentleman.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, I would now yield to the very distinguished gentleman
from Indiana (Mr. Pence).
(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for
yielding. I also want to thank him for his extraordinary and
compassionate and principled and eloquent advocacy of life. The people
of Arizona who cherish life are extraordinarily well served by Mr.
Franks.
I come to this well having enjoyed a day, Mr. Speaker, on the
National Mall, where over 100,000 Americans by some estimates gathered
in the bitter cold 35 years after a Supreme Court decision, and they
gathered for one reason and one reason only, because those Americans
cherish the sanctity of life and are unwilling to go quietly into that
good night, which is an America that walks away from a belief that
every life is sacred.
100,000 people. Not at the podium. Not with the television cameras on
them, as some of us were. Not with the accolades of people in a
movement who will write on the Internet or write editorials how they
approve of our stand. But in the obscurity of a throng of tens of
thousands, Americans came. In the dead of winter. It was extraordinary,
Mr. Speaker, I must say, and it gives me great hope about this
movement.
The sanctity of life is the central axiom of Western civilization. It
is, I believe, our commitment to the unalienable right to life and
liberty and the pursuit of happiness that split the atom of the
American experiment and has created the freest and most prosperous and
most powerful nation in the history of the world. It is because we
embrace that ethic that we are endowed by our Creator with the
unalienable right to life. And there, 35 years after Roe v. Wade,
100,000 Americans are still standing in the cold for that principle.
I rise tonight very humbled to hear the eloquence of my colleagues,
but filled with hope after a hurried day in this movement, because I
have seen the faces of the foot soldiers of the right to life. I have
stood among a throng of young Americans, particularly young women under
the age of 30, who are choosing life as never before. In the last 20
years, abortion has declined by more than 20 percent.
{time} 2015
I believe, as you could see in those relationships today on the
National Mall, it's not just because of political debate, but it's
because of moral persuasion. In the last 35 years, I believe in the
quiet counsels between mothers and daughters, between grandmothers and
granddaughters, the truth about abortion is being told.
Life is winning in America.
I rise tonight simply, Mr. Speaker, to speak a little out of turn,
and not just to your chair, but maybe to those that are looking in
tonight and to say thank you for standing for life. Your efforts on
behalf of the unborn are not in vain, and I do believe in our lifetime,
if we will exercise the faith and perseverance and compassion and
civility that was in evidence on the National Mall today, we will see
Roe v. Wade collapse like the Berlin Wall. It will collapse finally and
at last on that day when people on both sides of the debate don't want
it there anymore.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I just thank the gentleman so
much for his moving words.
Now I yield to the gentleman from Iowa, Congressman King.
Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank the gentleman from Arizona for organizing
this Special Order tonight on this day that culminates a long period of
time here in Washington across America where we have gathered together
to march and to speak and to appeal and to pray for the end of this
holocaust of abortion in America.
I have enjoyed those experiences that I have been able to share with
my pro-life colleagues. As I went to the mass last night in the
basilica and looked out across that sea of faces, more than 10,000
strong on the ground floor of that magnificent cathedral up on the hill
in northeast Washington, realizing that there are 10,000 people in the
main floor and another 5,000 in the basement, 15 to 16,000, many young
people, who have done the pilgrimage from all across America, gotten on
a bus and ridden for hours, maybe 18 or 20 or more hours to get here.
They will go to the service, and they came to the march, the march for
life today on The Mall in the cold and in the drizzle. They got back on
the bus, some of them without even getting a chance to get warm, and
headed back to their homes again. Those are people with conviction.
Those are people that understand the two simple and basic questions
that are before us here.
The first question is, and so when I ask many high school students in
public auditoriums, do you believe in the sanctity of life? Is human
life sacred in all of its forms? Is the person sitting next to you, is
their life sacred? Is your life sacred? And I get the answer, the
universal answer is yes, yes from all of them. I have never had a
dissenter.
Then I asked them, there is only one other question you need to ask
to determine your position on life, and that is, this sacred life, your
life, the person sitting next to you, at what instant did that life
begin?
We know that there is only one instant, and that is the instant of
conception. But once a person understands and comes to a faithful
conviction that human life is sacred, and it begins at the instant of
conception, we also will never lose the debate, will never lose our
conviction.
I would invite anyone in this Congress to come to this floor and
debate me on those two points. I would like to have someone stand up
and tell me their life began at some other instant than conception, but
it will not happen, because they know that the minute, the instant that
anybody over here takes a position other than this sacred life begins
at the instant of conception, they have instantly lost the debate.
That's the point that I think all Americans should understand. If
they do, this Nation will one day put an end to Roe v. Wade.
I am a Catholic, an active Catholic, and I understand the church's
teachings on this. I wonder, sometimes about some of the active
Catholics in this Congress that do not necessarily reflect the church's
teachings. I would love to see, and I would call out an invitation next
year for the special mass at the basilica, for the Speaker to join us
there in our public prayer for those 50 million lives of those little
babies, those little babies that will never have the opportunity to
laugh, to love, never be hugged at night, never be kissed at night, not
a single night, 50 million babies, 50 million little empty pairs of
shoes, 50 million empty baby cribs, 50 million toys never played with,
50 million children, innocent as could be, denied the right to life.
I reflect upon the appointments to the Supreme Court that the
President made in this past term, two magnificent appointments to the
Supreme Court, and that would be Chief Justice Roberts and Justice
Alito. We got a Supreme Court decision that upheld our ban on partial
birth abortion finally, finally a measure that came from this Congress
that was not denied by the Court.
[[Page H382]]
When I looked across the sea of faces that filled The Mall as far as
the eye could see today by the tens of thousands, and perhaps by the
hundreds of thousands, and reflected that they all came here to this
city today because the Court injected themselves into a policy
decision, not a constitutional decision.
Roe vs. Wade and Doe v. Bolten, both need to be ripped out and both
need to be overturned. The two magnificent appointments to the Supreme
Court that understand this Constitution to mean what it says and mean
what it was understood when it was ratified by our Founders, those
appointments are wonderful appointments that move us down the line.
This Constitution will protect life; it will protect marriage. But we
must have a Supreme Court that protects the Constitution, that does not
amend it with their liberalism and their activism.
Mr. Speaker, the next two appointments to the Supreme Court will be
more important than the last two. The next two appointments to the
Supreme Court will determine whether we preserve and protect life and
whether we preserve and protect marriage. Those two are
transformational issues before this Congress. We must stand up for
life.
We said goodbye to the elegant statesman and the great lion for life,
Henry Hyde, Chairman Henry Hyde. Many of us count him as a friend. I
counted him as one of the honors of my life to be able to call him as a
friend and someone whom I admired.
The words on the program at Henry Hyde's funeral were a quote from
him that say this: ``When the time comes, as it surely will, when we
face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I've often thought, as
Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You
have no advocates. You are there alone standing before God, and a
terror will rip through your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I
really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I
think there will be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in
this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world, and
they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will
say to God, 'Spare him because he loved us,' and God will look at you
and say not 'Did you succeed?' but 'Did you try?'''
God bless his life and his effort, and may he save the lives of the
unborn.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the distinguished gentleman.
I now, Mr. Speaker, yield to the distinguished gentleman, Congressman
Jordan of Ohio.
Mr. JORDAN of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank
him for his compassion and his commitment to protecting all life,
defending those defenseless and his tireless work, and my colleagues as
well, who understand that all life is sacred.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank, as other speakers have done, I want to
thank those thousands of families, thousands of young people, thousands
of Americans who gathered today in our Nation's Capital. They too
understand that life is precious, life is special, life is sacred and
it should be protected in all forms.
I really want to thank them for two things, and I said this today at
the rally. First, I want to thank them for having the willingness to
engage in the struggle. I learned a long time ago that nothing of
meaning, nothing of significance happens by hanging out on the
sidelines. You have got to be willing to get in the game step, you have
got to be willing to get out of the shadows, step in the game if you
are going to make a difference.
That is what Americans were doing today here in our Nation's Capital.
I also want to thank them for something else. One of the things that
all of us as Members of Congress deal with are those interest groups,
those lobbyists who want to come talk to us about all kinds of issues.
I say this every chance I get to talk about the life issue. We have
all kinds of lobbyists who want to come talk to us, then to talk to us
and influence the way things work here in Congress, the way legislation
is passed. The reason they want to talk to us is they and their clients
have a financial interest at stake.
But the people who came to our Nation's Capital today, they had
nothing to gain financially for doing what they did today. They simply
did it because it was the right thing to do. They understand that the
truth is the truth, and that life should be protected. I reassured them
today. I think we are going to win.
It may take some time, but America always gets it right. Sometimes it
takes us a while, but we get it right. We are making progress. We wish
it would happen quicker. It has been 35 years now in this struggle. We
wish it would happen quicker, but we are getting closer. Someday in
this great country, the greatest Nation in history, we will get it
right and every single human life will be protected.
I said to many of the folks that I had an opportunity to speak with
today, you know, stay positive, because in America things do work out
and the truth does prevail in the end.
I told them the story from scripture, and I will finish with this
before I yield back to my old friend. The old story from scripture is
so appropriate, I think, in that we should stay positive. The story
goes, when the Israelites were camped against the Philistines, and
every day the Philistine giant would walk out and issue the challenge,
Who will fight Goliath? The Israelites' response was, He is so big we
can never defeat him.
But David's response was, He is so big I can't miss. That is the
attitude we saw on display today in our Nation's Capital. That's the
attitude that has always been a part of the American experience. That
is the attitude we need as we go forward. We will win this effort and
all life will be protected in this country because you have great
people like Mr. Franks from Arizona. I appreciate his time tonight in
scheduling this hour for us.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman so much.
I now yield to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Sali).
Mr. SALI. Thank you, gentlemen.
Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to commemorate National
Sanctity of Human Life Day. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the
Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, that landmark decision that so
drastically altered the landscape.
This month also bears a sad distinction. In January 2008, we passed
the tragic mark of 50 million lives that have been lost to abortion
since Roe vs. Wade. We cannot help but wonder about the implications of
this astonishing statistic. We are all concerned about the shortage of
workers in our country. So many of those unborn lives lost due to Roe
v. Wade would now be in the workforce.
What about Social Security? Could we not better sustain the vitality
of the program if these same workers were paying into the system? These
are matters of demographics and economics, yes, but ultimately they are
about the most profound issue of all, the simple but indispensable
sanctity of human life.
In this very room, from the view of the distinguished Speaker, the
center of relief that looks over all of us is an image of Moses, the
lawgiver. In the 90th Psalm, Moses wrote ``Teach us to number our days
aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom . . . May your deeds be
shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.''
How many of our children will never be able to number their days
because their days will never begin? How many will never know God's
splendor in the life He wants for each of us, because they never have
been allowed to see the light of day?
As the father of six and the grandfather of six, five of whom have
been born and one who remains unborn, yes, a grandfather of six, I have
watched the breathtaking miracle of life unfold again and again. Every
time I see a small child, I am reminded of the wondrous blessings of a
creator who allows us to share in the miracle of creation.
In the words of the poet William Wordsworth, ``Heaven lies about us
in our infancy.'' It is essential for all of us to remember that in any
abortion there are two victims, the mother and the unborn child.
Mr. Speaker, we have to do a better job of communicating to women in
crisis what public and private resources are available to help them, to
reach out more vigilantly to these women with a tenderness and a
practical compassion our country has shown so often to so many.
[[Page H383]]
I applaud the selfless unsung sacrifices of tens of thousands of our
fellow citizens who care for women with crisis pregnancies and to
provide spiritual, emotional and material support for them.
It is fitting that we recall the words of our Declaration of
Independence, that our creator has endowed all with certain unalienable
rights, the first of which is life. The little one in the womb is a
person with value independent of his or her mother and deserves the
right to that life.
As Members of Congress, we are uniquely positioned to protect the
most innocent and vulnerable members of our society, the unborn. If we
cannot protect the most innocent and helpless among us, how can we
proclaim that we want to provide justice and protection for anyone
else?
{time} 2030
May those of us who believe in the uniqueness of human personhood,
from conception to death, today again resolve never to cease our
efforts to make our beloved country not only a beacon of hope but a
sanctuary of human dignity. Surely there can be no higher calling for
us as public servants of this blessed land.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the distinguished gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, because the end of the hour grows close, I would now
come before this body with a sunset memorial. We intend to repeat this
from time to time to chronicle the loss of life by abortion on demand
in this country.
Mr. Speaker, it is January 22, 2008, in the land of the free and the
home of the brave, and before the sun sets today in America, almost
4,000 more defenseless unborn children were killed by abortion on
demand just today.
Exactly 35 years today, the tragic judicial fiat called Roe v. Wade
was handed down. Since then, the very foundation of this Nation has
been stained by the blood of almost 50 million children. Mr. Speaker,
that is more than 16,000 times the number of innocent lives lost on
September 11.
Each of the 4,000 children that we lost today had at least four
things in common. They were each just little babies who had done
nothing wrong to anyone. And each one of them died a nameless and
lonely death. And each of their mothers, whether she realizes it
immediately or not, will never be the same. And all the gifts that
these children might have brought to humanity are now lost forever.
Mr. Speaker, those noble heroes lying in frozen silence out in
Arlington National Cemetery did not die so America could shred her own
Constitution, as well as her own children, by the millions. It seems
that we are never quite so eloquent as when we decry the genocidal
crimes of past generations, those who allowed their courts to strip the
black man and the Jew of their constitutional personhood, and then
proceeded to murderously desecrate millions of these, God's own
children.
Yet even in the full glare of such tragedy, this generation clings to
blindness and invincible ignorance while history repeats itself and our
own genocide mercilessly annihilates the most helpless of all victims
to date, those yet unborn.
Perhaps it is important for those of us in this Chamber to remind
ourselves again of why we are really all here.
Thomas Jefferson said, ``The care of human life and its happiness and
not its destruction is the chief and only object of good government.''
Mr. Speaker, protecting the lives of our innocent citizens and their
constitutional rights is why we are all here. It is our sworn oath. The
phrase in the 14th amendment capsulizes our entire Constitution. It
says: ``No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property
without due process of law.''
The bedrock foundation of this Republic is the Declaration, not the
casual notion, but the Declaration of the self-evident truth that all
human beings are created equal and endowed by their creator with the
unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Every
conflict and battle our Nation has ever faced can be traced to our
commitment to this core self-evident truth. It has made us the beacon
of hope for the entire world. It is who we are.
And yet today, Mr. Speaker, in this body we fail to honor that
commitment. We fail our sworn oath and our God-given responsibility as
we broke faith with nearly 4,000 innocent American babies who died
without the protection we should have been given them.
And so for them in this moment, Mr. Speaker, without yielding my
time, I would invite anyone inclined to join me for a moment of silence
on their behalf.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that this discussion tonight presents this
Congress and the American people with two destiny questions.
The first that all of us must ask ourselves is very simple: Does
abortion really kill a baby? If the answer to that question is ``yes,''
there is a second destiny question that inevitably follows. And it is
this, Mr. Speaker: Will we allow ourselves to be dragged by those who
have lost their way into a darkness where the light of human compassion
has gone out and the predatory survival of the fittest prevails over
humanity? Or will America embrace her destiny to lead the world to
cherish and honor the God-given miracle of each human life?
Mr. Speaker, it has been said that every baby comes with a message,
that God has not yet despaired of mankind. And I mourn that those 4,000
messages sent to us today will never be heard. Mr. Speaker, I also have
not yet despaired. Because tonight maybe someone new, maybe even
someone in this Congress, who heard this sunset memorial will finally
realize that abortion really does kill a baby, that it hurts mothers
more than anyone else, and that nearly 50 million dead children in
America is enough. And that America is great enough to find a better
way than abortion on demand.
So tonight, Mr. Speaker, may we each remind ourselves that our own
days in this sunshine of life are numbered and that all too soon each
of us will walk from these Chambers for the very last time.
And if it should be that this Congress is allowed to convene on
another day yet to come, may that be the day that we hear the cries of
the unborn at last. May that be the day we find the humanity, the
courage, and the will to embrace together our human and our
constitutional duty to protect the least of these, our tiny American
brothers and sisters, from this murderous scourge upon our Nation
called abortion on demand.
This is a sunset memorial, Mr. Speaker. It is January 22, 2008, in
the land of free and the home of the brave.
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