[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 153 (Thursday, October 13, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            PROTECT LIFE ACT

  (Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my 
opposition to H.R. 358. When I speak with women in my district, they 
are concerned about finding a job, keeping their home from foreclosure, 
or putting food on the table. What they do not ask for is their 
constitutional rights to be threatened or their health to be 
endangered. Yet this bill does just that.
  Rather than focus on continuing to rebuild our Nation's economy, the 
Republican majority is focusing their time on, once again, seeking to 
limit women's access to reproductive care.
  I am particularly troubled that this bill, the Protect Life Act, 
actually does just the opposite. This bill would override core patient 
protections and allow hospitals to legally refuse lifesaving treatment 
to women, thus allowing them to die in a hospital despite their 
treatable condition. This extreme legislation is dangerous to women's 
health and does nothing to address the jobs crisis facing American 
families.
  I urge my colleagues, if they truly want to protect life, to vote 
against this bill.

                          ____________________