Congressional Record, Volume 159 Issue 7 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)

[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H206-H219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

FORTY YEARS OF VICTIMS' LEGACY OF ABORTION

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.

General Leave

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my
Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago today marks the
U.S. Supreme Court's infamous, reckless, and inhumane abandonment of
women and babies to abortionists. Forty years of victims, dead babies,
wounded women, shattered families. Forty years of government-sanctioned
violence against women and children. Since 1973, more than 55 million
children have been killed by abortion, a staggering loss of children's
precious lives, a death toll that equates to the entire population of
England.
The passage of time hasn't changed the fact that abortion is a
serious, lethal violation of fundamental human rights; and that women
and children deserve better, much better; and that the demands of
justice, generosity, and compassion require that the right to life be
guaranteed to everyone, regardless of age, sex, race, condition of
dependency, disability, or stage of development.
Rather than obscure or dull our consciousness to the unmitigated
violence of abortion, the passage of time has only enabled us to see
and better understand the innate cruelty of abortion and its horrific
legacy--victims--while making us more determined than ever to protect
the weakest and most vulnerable and end the mass deception by the
abortion industry.
Earlier today, Linda Shrewsbury, an academic and an African American
with a degree from Harvard, who had an abortion, told a 40 Years Of
Victims press conference:

The lies that brought me to that day and its sorrowful
aftermath are crystal clear in my mind: falsehoods and
deceptions that concealed the truth about abortion. Lies
planted in my thinking by clever marketing, media campaigns,
and endless repetition led to a tragic, irreversible
decision--the death of my first child.

She goes on to say:

It's past time to lance the national wound of abortion with
truth. The high culture--thought leaders, media,
celebrities--that brought us abortion seem vested beyond
extraction.

She said she ``dreamed of the volcano of abortion truth that could
erupt one day from the grass-roots--women and men and their relatives
witnessing to their suppressed emotion, unspoken trauma, and lived
pain. With abortion denial ended, we as a society could then reconnect
with reality and life.''
Clearly, Mr. Speaker, there are seemingly ominous present-day signs
that hinder ending abortion denial and a reconnection with reality and
life. Certainly the re-election of the abortion President Barack Obama,
public funding for abortion in the ObamaCare health exchanges that come
online in 2014, a massive increase of public funding for abortion, the
use of coercion to compel religious believers and entrepreneurs to
violate their consciences, slick advertising, and the export of
abortion worldwide.
And it is deeply troubling that despite the fact that Planned
Parenthood claims direct responsibility for killing over 6 million
unborn babies in their clinics, including a record 333,964 abortions in
2011 alone, Planned Parenthood remains President Obama's favorite
organization.
Despite these and many obstacles, however, we will never quit. In
adversity, our faith and trust in God is tested, but it also deepens
and overcomes and forges an indomitable, yet humble, spirit.
The pro-life movement--and I've been in it for 41 years--is comprised
of some of the noblest, caring, smart, and selfless people I have ever
met. They make up an extraordinarily powerful, nonviolent, faith-filled
human rights struggle that is growing in public support, intensity,
commitment, and hope.
The compassionate women and men who staff thousands of pregnancy care
centers, many of the women being post-abortive themselves who try to
save women from that irreversible decision, help women who are
experiencing unexpected pregnancies, and they provide tangible
assistance and an enormous amount of love and emotional support both
before and after the birth of a child.
The pro-life movement is not only on the side of compassion, justice,
and inclusion. We are on the right side of responsible science and of
history.
Someday future generations will look back on America and wonder how
and why such a seemingly enlightened society, so blessed and endowed
with education, advanced science, information, wealth, and opportunity,
could have failed to protect the innocent and the inconvenient. They
will wonder how and why a Nobel Peace Prize-winning President could
also simultaneously have been the abortion President.
Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin King, who had two
abortions but is now solidly pro-life, said in one of her speeches:

My Uncle Martin had a dream. He dreamt that we would live
out that which is self-evident, that all men are created
equal. He called on America to admit our wrongs and turn from
them. Today, I call on all of us, regardless of nationality,
race, or religion, to admit our wrongs and turn from them. I
believe that the denial of the right to life is the greatest
injustice we face in the world today. There is no compassion
in killing. There is no justice in writing people out of
the human race.

{time} 1540

History, Mr. Speaker, will not look favorably on today's abortion
culture. We must, indeed and instead, work tirelessly to replace it
with a culture of life.
Mr. Speaker, forty years ago today marks the U.S. Supreme Court's
infamous, reckless and inhumane abandonment of women and babies to
abortionists.
Forty years of victims--dead babies, wounded women, shattered
families.
Forty years of government sanctioned violence against women and
children.
Since 1973, more than 55 million children have been killed by
abortion--a staggering loss of children's precious lives--a death toll
that equates to the entire population of England.
The passage of time hasn't changed the fact that abortion is a
serious, lethal violation of fundamental human rights. And that women
and children deserve better--much better. And that the demands of
justice, generosity and

[[Page H207]]

compassion require that the right to life be guaranteed to everyone,
regardless of age, sex, race, condition of dependency, disability, or
stage of development.
Rather than obscure or dull our consciences to the unmitigated
violence of abortion, the passage of time has only enabled us to see
and better understand the innate cruelty of abortion--and its horrific
legacy victims--while making us more determined than ever to protect
the weakest and most vulnerable, and end mass deception by the abortion
industry.
Earlier today, Linda Shrewsbury, an academic and African American
with a degree from Harvard who had an abortion told a ``40 Years of
Victims'' press conference that: ``the lies that brought me to that day
and its sorrowful aftermath are crystal clear in my mind--falsehoods
and deceptions that concealed the truth about abortion. Lies planted in
my thinking by clever marketing, media campaigns and endless repetition
led to a tragic irreversible decision--the death of my first child.
I didn't really understand back then. At age 20, I had no inkling of
the mental and emotional darkness I was about to enter. I couldn't have
grasped the immense psychological toll abortion would take for years
into the future--unrelenting tears, guilt, shame, and depression. After
spending many years in denial, I did eventually find healing. When I
understood and rejected distortions about fetal development,
doublespeak about choice, rights, planned and wanted children; I
understood the reality and victimhood of my aborted child. I understood
the absence of moral bases for choosing to ``dis-entitle'' an innocent
human being of life. When I embraced truth, truth set me free and I
finally gained inner peace.
It's past time to lance the national wound of abortion with truth.
The high culture--thought leaders, media, celebrities--that brought us
abortion seem vested beyond extraction. I dreamed of the volcano of
abortion truth that could erupt one day from the grassroots--women and
men and their relatives witnessing to their suppressed emotion,
unspoken trauma, and lived pain. With abortion denial ended, we as a
society could then reconnect with reality and life.''
Clearly there are seemingly ominous present-day signs that hinder
ending abortion denial and a reconnection with reality and life--the
reelection of the abortion President Barack Obama, public funding for
abortion in the Obamacare health exchanges that come on-line in 2014,
the use of coercion to compel religious believers and entrepreneurs to
violate their conscience, and the export of abortion worldwide.
And, it is deeply troubling that despite the fact that Planned
Parenthood claims direct responsibility for killing over 6 million
unborn babies, including a record 333,964 abortions in 2011 alone,
Planned Parenthood remains President Obama's favorite organization.
Despite these and any obstacles, we will never quit. In adversity our
faith and trust in God is tested, but it also deepens and overcomes and
forges an indomitable yet humble spirit.
The pro-life movement is comprised of some of the noblest, caring,
smart and selfless people I have ever met. They make up an
extraordinarily powerful, non-violent, faith-filled human rights
struggle that is growing in public support, intensity, commitment and
hope.
The compassionate women and men who staff thousands of pregnancy care
centers throughout America provide women who are experiencing
unexpected pregnancies tangible assistance, love and emotional support
both before and after the birth of her child.
With malice towards none, even President Obama for whom we must pray,
we believe that the nightmare that is abortion on demand will end.
The pro-life movement is not only on the side of compassion, justice,
and inclusion; we are on the right side of responsible science and of
history.
Someday future generations will look back on America and wonder how
and why such a seemingly enlightened society, so blessed and endowed
with education, advanced science, information, wealth and opportunity
could have failed to protect the innocent and inconvenient. They will
wonder how and why a Nobel Peace Prize winning President could also
simultaneously have been the Abortion President.
Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, had two
abortions but is now pro-life. She said in one speech: ``My Uncle
Martin had a dream. He dreamt that we would live out that which is
self-evident--that all men are created equal. He called on America to
admit our wrongs and turn from them. Today, I call on all of us,
regardless of nationality, race or religion, to admit our wrongs and
turn from them. I believe that the denial of the right to life is the
greatest injustice we face in the world today. There is no compassion
in killing. There is no justice in writing people out of the human
race.''
History will not look favorably on today's abortion culture. We must
instead work tirelessly to replace it with a culture of life.
Pro-lifers celebrate the sanctity of life. Unborn babies are not
disposable commodities. We recognize that unborn children, like their
older brothers and sisters, have inherent worth, value, and dignity.
They are children too. If left alone to grow and mature, they too will
become older brothers and sisters--and perhaps parents themselves
someday.
Modern medicine and scientific breakthrough--especially the
widespread use of ultrasound--have shattered the pernicious myth that
unborn children are mere blobs of tissue. It's time to recognize birth
merely as a celebratory event in the life of a person--not the
beginning of life. And we've got to step up our efforts to educate and
persuade. Far too many politicians, judges, journalists and others
choose denial and deceptive speech over truth.
Today doctors diagnose illness and disability before birth. New and
exciting breakthrough health care interventions for the unborn--
including microsurgeries--are leading to an ever expanding array of
successful treatments and cures of sick or disabled unborn babies in
need of help. Unborn children are society's littlest patients who like
any one of us might need health care.
In stark contrast, abortion methods rip, tear and dismember or
chemically poison the fragile bodies of babies and abortion pills cause
premature expulsion from the womb and death. There is nothing benign,
compassionate, or just about an act that utterly destroys the life of a
child and often physically, psychologically, and emotionally harms
women. And despite the near total absence of any meaningful reporting
by the media, women get hurt and some even die from legal abortions.
According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
report, from 1973 to 2008 at least 403 women tragically died in the
United States from legal abortion. And that sad fact is almost
certainly a significant undercount because the methodology employed by
CDC is passive and voluntary and likely to miss instances of both
mortality and morbidity.
In the years since CDC's ``most recent report,'' many more women have
surely died. Like Tonya Reaves, a 24-year-old woman who died last July
from a botched second trimester dismemberment abortion--a D&E--at a
Chicago area Planned Parenthood abortion mill.
The abortion industry excels at surface appeal argument and
propaganda. Indeed the misleading term ``safe abortion'' purposely
misses the point that no abortion--legal or illegal--is ever safe for
the baby and that all are fraught with negative health consequences for
the mother.
Today, at least 104 credible studies show significant psychological
harm, major depression and/or elevated suicide risk in women who abort.
The Times of London reported that, ``[S]enior . . . psychiatrists say
that new evidence has uncovered a clear link between abortion and
mental illness in women with no previous history of psychological
problems.'' They found ``that women who have had abortions have twice
the level of psychological problems and three times the level of
depression as women who have given birth or who have never been
pregnant.''

In 2006, a comprehensive New Zealand study found that 78.6% of the
15-18-year-olds who had abortions displayed symptoms of major
depression as compared to 31% of their peers. The study also found that
27% of the 21-25-year-old women who had abortions had suicidal
ideations compared to 8% of those who did not have an abortion.
At this morning's ``40 Years of Victims'' press conference courageous
post-abortive women, as well as the mother of a minor girl who was
transported across state lines to New Jersey to evade Pennsylvania's
parental involvement laws spoke eloquently of the anguish of abortion.
Irene Beltran said: ``My entire being was overcome by terror, and I
felt deep anguish in the core of my soul when I ended the life of my
own child for the sake of convenience. At the clinic I was treated like
livestock being herded from one step to the next . . . When the
abortionist administered the poison in my stomach I was mortified and
shocked because I felt my child kick and turn very hastily. Years later
I found out she was being burned and could feel the pain. Since I was 6
months pregnant this would be a two-day process. The second day
consisted of the abortionist tearing my daughter out of me--limb from
limb, piece by piece. But I did not go back. After feeling my daughter
fight for her life I went straight to my mother's home crying for help.
She drove me to the Labor and Delivery Department at a local hospital.
I arrived at the hospital grasping on the slim chance they could save
my daughter, but there was nothing the doctors could do. The effects of
the toxin were irreversible.''
Marcia Carroll said even though ``my daughter chose to have the baby,
raise it . . .. The father's family arranged a taxi, a train, and
subway rides to sneak her across state lines

[[Page H208]]

to New Jersey where his family met them in front of the abortion
clinic. . .. They planned, financed, harassed, and ultimately
threatened my daughter into having the abortion . . .. As a result of
the legal abortion that was completed unbeknownst to me, my daughter
suffered years of depression, intense grief, post-traumatic stress
disorder, nightmares, and thoughts and even attempts of suicide.''
Kellie Stauffer spoke of her abortion at the age of 14: ``We all
thought abortion would erase the situation I had gotten myself in and
we would go on living life the way it was. That was not the case. . . .
life sadly was never the same. I hated myself. I tried to numb my pain
in any way I could find, drugs, alcohol, food, meaningless
relationships, but nothing took away the deep darkness that overwhelmed
my soul. . . . She persuaded me to go to a Rachel's vineyard retreat
and that weekend saved my life. I allowed myself to feel the
forgiveness God had been showing me all along. . . . I will never
forget what I did to my first child. I am still brought to my knees in
tears at times when I remember the pain I caused her. In response to
God's grace and for my daughter's spirit I will be silent no more.''
Olivia Gans Turner said: ``I was not told vital information about the
child I was carrying. Including the medical fact that by the time I had
an abortion at 12 weeks, my baby already had a beating heart and brain
waves! . . . I have not forgotten one moment of that day, and never
will. That single day changed my life forever.''
Abortion not only has deleterious effects on women but on children
born subsequently to women who have had a previous abortion.
At least 115 studies show a significant association between abortion
and subsequent premature births. Researchers Shah and Zao showed a 36%
increased risk for preterm birth after one abortion and a staggering
93% increased risk after two.
Similarly, the risk of subsequent children being born with low birth
weight increases by 35% after one and 72% after two or more abortions.
Another study shows the risk increases 9 times after a woman has had
three abortions.
What does this mean for her children? Preterm birth is the leading
cause of infant mortality in the industrialized world after congenital
anomalies. Preterm infants have a greater risk of suffering from
chronic lung disease, sensory deficits, cerebral palsy, cognitive
impairments and behavior problems. Low birth weight is similarly
associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity.
The extremism of the pro-abortion industry is shocking.
Last spring, the House of Representatives took up a bill to ban sex-
selection abortion. The bill garnered a solid majority--246 to 168--in
the House. President Obama, however, made it absolutely clear that he
would veto the sex-selection abortion prohibition should it be sent to
the White House.
While sex-selection abortion almost exclusively targets girls for
extermination--simply because they are little girls--the egregious
practice remains legal in most states. In fact, only four states--
Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Arizona--and several countries
including the United Kingdom proscribe it.
And if that's not shocking enough, many remain unaware of the fact
that sex-selection abortion is part of a deliberate plan of population
control--a war on women. In other words, abort the girls so they can't
grow up someday and have children of their own.
In her book ``Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the
Consequences of a World Full of Men,'' Mara Hvistendahl traces the
sordid history of sex-selection abortion as a means of population
control.
``By August 1969, when the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development and the Population Council convened another workshop
on population control, sex selection had become a pet scheme,''
Hvistendahl writes. ``If a reliable sex-determination technology could
be made available to a mass market,'' there was ``rough consensus''
that sex-selection abortion ``would be an effective, uncontroversial
and ethical way of reducing the global population.''
Many of you might recall the undercover sting operation by Live
Action that exposed several Planned Parenthood affiliates who were
eager, ready and willing to facilitate secret abortions for underage
sex-trafficking victims--some as young or younger than 14. As the prime
sponsor of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act--the landmark law to
combat human trafficking--I found the willingness of Planned Parenthood
personnel to exploit young girls and partner with sex traffickers to be
absolutely appalling.
Now, Live Action has released sting-operation videos--part of a
series, ``Gendercide in America''--that show Planned Parenthood
personnel advising undercover female investigators how to procure a
sex-selection abortion. Caught on tape, one staffer tells an
investigator to wait until her baby is 5 months along to get an
ultrasound that reveals the sex of the child. Then, if it's a girl,
kill it.
For most of us, ``it's a girl'' is cause for enormous joy, happiness
and celebration. But far too often, this phrase can be a death
sentence.
These cruel, anti-woman policies have had horrible consequences
everywhere, especially in China (and India as well).
China's one child per couple policy in effect since 1979 constitutes
massive crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg Nazi war crimes tribunal
properly construed forced abortion as a crime against humanity--nothing
in human history compares to the magnitude of China's 34-year assault
on women and children.
In China, brothers and sisters are illegal in most instances.
The price for failing to conform to the one child per couple policy
is unbearably high. A Chinese woman who becomes pregnant without a
permit will be put under mind-bending pressure to abort. She knows that
``out-of-plan'' illegal children are denied education, health care, and
marriage, and that fines for bearing a child without a birth permit can
be 10 times the average annual income of two parents, and those
families that can't or won't pay are jailed and their homes smashed in.
If the brave woman still refuses to submit, she may be held in a
punishment cell, or, if she flees, her relatives may be held and, very
often, beaten. Group punishments will be used to socially ostracize
her. And her colleagues and neighbors will be denied birth permits. If
the woman is by some miracle still able to resist this pressure, she
may be physically dragged to the operating table and forced to undergo
an abortion.
Over the years, I have chaired 43 congressional human rights hearings
focused in whole or in part on China's one child policy. At one, the
principal witness, Wuijan, a Chinese student attending a U.S.
university, testified about how her child was forcibly murdered by the
government. She said, ``[T]he room was full of moms who had just gone
through a forced abortion. Some moms were crying. Some moms were
mourning. Some moms were screaming. And one mom was rolling on the
floor with unbearable pain.'' Then Wuijan said it was her turn, and
through her tears she described what she called her journey in hell.''

Not only has the Obama Administration turned a blind eye to the
atrocities being committed under the one child policy, but continues to
provide financial support--contrary to U.S. law--to the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization that supports, plans,
implements, defends and whitewashes the Chinese government's brutal
program.
Twenty nine years ago--on May 9, 1984--I authored the first amendment
ever to a foreign aid bill to deny funding to organizations such as the
UNFPA that are complicit with China's forced abortion and involuntary
sterilization policy. It passed. After all these years, it is
astonishing that policy makers--including and especially the Obama
Administration--remain indifferent or worse, supportive, of these
massive crimes against women and children. The Obama Administration has
long enabled this cruel policy by its silence and financial support to
the tune of $50 million a year to the UNFPA.
The result of this policy is a nightmarish ``brave new world'' with
no precedent in human history, where women are psychologically wounded,
girls fall victim to sex-selective abortion (in some provinces 140 boys
are born for every 100 girls), and most children grow up without
brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles or cousins.
Women bear the major brunt of the one child policy not only as
victimized mothers. Due to the male preference in China's society and
the limitation of the family size to one child, the policy has directly
contributed to what is accurately described as gendercide--the
deliberate extermination of a girl--born or unborn--simply because she
happens to be a girl.
As a result of the Chinese government's barbaric attack on mothers
and their children, there are some 100 million missing daughters in
China today.
Because of the missing girls--China today has become the human sex
trafficking magnate of the world. Women and young girls from outside
the country are being sold as commodities throughout China--a direct
consequence of the one child policy. Several prominent people including
Ted Turner have suggested that the United States--indeed the world--
needs to follow China's example and promulgate a one child per couple
policy.
Mr Speaker, despite the best and slickest market branding money can
buy, the stubborn fact remains that Planned Parenthood clinics are
among the most dangerous places on Earth for a child. Planned
Parenthood's own personnel are now taking a second look and, thanks to
ultrasound, are clearly seeing what is being done to millions of
children in the womb.
One of those abortion providers who took a second look and walked
away is Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood abortion

[[Page H209]]

clinic director. In her book ''Unplanned,'' Abby Johnson exposes the
duplicity and cruelty of what really goes on behind closed doors at a
Planned Parenthood clinic. In it she writes how she witnessed and
assisted in an abortion of a 13-week-old baby by holding the ultrasound
probe, and as she pointed out in the book, it was the first ultrasound-
guided abortion at that facility.
She writes in the book: ``The details startled me. At 13 weeks you
could clearly see the profile of the head, both arms, legs, and even
tiny fingers and toes. With my eyes glued to the image of this
perfectly formed baby, I watched as a new image emerged on the video
screen. The cannula, a straw-shaped instrument attached to the end of
the suction tube, had been inserted into the uterus and was nearing the
baby's side. It looked like an invader on the screen: out of place,
wrong. It just looked wrong.''
She goes on to write: ``My heart sped up; time slowed. I didn't want
to look, but I didn't want to stop looking either. At first, the baby
didn't seem aware of the cannula. It gently probed the baby's side, and
for a quick second I felt relief But I couldn't shake an inner disquiet
that was quickly mounting to horror as I watched the screen.''
Remember, this is an abortion clinic director saying this.
``The next movement was a sudden jerk of a tiny foot of the baby as
he started kicking, as if trying to move away from the probing
invader.''
``As the cannula pressed in, the baby began struggling to turn and
twist away. It seemed clear to me that the fetus could feel the
cannula, and it did not like the feeling. And then the doctor's voice
broke through, startling me: `Beam me up, Scotty,' the abortionist said
lightheartedly to the nurse. He was telling her to turn on the suction,
in an abortion the suction isn't turned on until the doctor feels he
has the cannula in exactly the right place.
Abbey Johnson, abortion clinic director, went on to write: ``I had a
sudden urge to yell, Stop; to shake the woman and say, Look at what's
happening to your baby. Wake up; hurry. Stop them. But even as I was
thinking those words, I thought of my own hand and saw my own hand
holding the probe. I was one of them performing this act'' of abortion.
``My eyes shot back to the screen. The cannula was already being
rotated by the doctor and now I could see the tiny body violently
twisting with it. For the briefest moment it looked as if the baby was
being wrung like a dishcloth, twirled and squeezed. And then the little
body crumpled and began disappearing into the cannula before my eyes.
The last thing I saw was the tiny perfectly formed backbone sucked into
the tube. And then everything was gone. The image of that tiny dead
baby mangled and sucked away kept replaying in my mind. What was in
this woman's womb just a moment ago was alive. It wasn't tissue. It
wasn't cells. This was a human baby, fighting for life. A battle was
lost in the blink of an eye.
``What I have told people for years''--8 years as a clinic director
at a Planned Parenthood clinic-- ``what I have told people for years,''
Abby Johnson continues, ``what I believed and taught and defended is a
lie.'' Abby Johnson is now an amazing pro-life leader.
Mr. Speaker, as we stand here on the floor of the U.S. House of
Representatives this afternoon marking 40 years since seven members of
the U.S. Supreme Court imposed abortion on demand for all nine months
on the United States of America, the legacy of Roe v Wade--dead babies
and injured women, shattered families--begs reappraisal. And courageous
women like Abby Johnson are showing the way.
Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to protect. The struggle to re-establish
durable protections for the most discriminated minority in America
today--unborn babies-- is worth any personal sacrifice, inconvenience
or pain.
We cannot allow the violence against women and their children to
continue.
I would like now to yield to my good friend and colleague, Marsha
Blackburn.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for the
excellent work that he continues to do, year in and year out, on this
issue. I appreciate his leadership.
We do stand today and mark the 40th anniversary of the tragic Roe v.
Wade decision, and it really said that not all life is created equal.
Since the Supreme Court gave our government's seal of approval, if you
will, for on-demand abortion, there have been over 55 million lives
lost.
Mr. Speaker, I'm not certain that we think about the gravity or the
enormity of the issue until we look at it in that collective sense, 55
million lives that have been lost.
As a woman, I personally believe that America is better than choosing
abortion, and I agree, and I believe that women deserve better.
The gentleman from New Jersey referenced the press conference that
victims held today, and I was so touched by a statement from one of
those that participated in this press conference. Her name is Irene
Beltran. Ms. Beltran tells the story of what she endured when she was
living in southern California and when she chose the path of abortion,
and it is a very tender and heart-wrenching story. I want to quote from
one paragraph in her story and this statement that she gave. And I'm
quoting Ms. Beltran now:

I've grief-stricken countless people with the choice that
I've made. I've robbed my seven children of a sister that
they could have played with, fed, and helped nurture. I've
robbed three sets of grandparents of a granddaughter. I've
robbed future generations from ever existing. I've suffered
from depression, anxiety, and eating disorder, just to name a
few. I felt damaged, humiliated and hopeless.
Women deserve better than abortion. I stand before you
today because my daughter forgives me, my family forgives me,
the Lord forgives me, and I forgive myself. I dedicated the
rest of my existence to fight this life-and-death war. This
is why I am silent no more.

That is the statement from Ms. Beltran as told at the press
conference today. And we all know in our hearts what she says is just
so true, that life is a natural right. It's a gift from God, whose love
extends beyond our comprehension, and He calls on us to protect the
smallest and the weakest among us.
We're moving forward with pro-life legislation in the States, and the
gentleman from New Jersey referenced the movement that he has worked in
for 40 years. We have 24 State legislatures that passed a record 92
measures that restricted abortion in 2011. Nine States have recently
banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
On the national level, we're working to end taxpayer funding for
abortion. I have legislation that addresses that Title X funding. And
we are continuing to work to make certain that we focus on helping the
families that have felt the impact of abortion in their life. We're
focusing on celebrating life and committing to making certain that we
stand and work toward a pro-life America.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I want to thank my good friend and
colleague, Marsha Blackburn, for her exemplary leadership and for her
very eloquent statement today.
I'd like to yield to Congresswoman Ann Wagner, the gentlelady from
Missouri.
Mrs. WAGNER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, it is with heavy heart that I stand here today on the
40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision that has done so much harm
to the moral landscape of our Nation.
Since that dreadful day 40 years ago, there have been more than 55
million abortions in this country. That is roughly one-fifth of the
United States population whom we will never know. We will never derive
the contributions to society that these nameless angels could have
brought to the world. And even worse is the emotional pain that
millions of women have endured in the days, months, and years after
their abortion.
It's my honor to put in the Record today the story of Joyce Zounis,
who joins us today. It's compelling testimony, and it's an honor to put
her testimony forward.
Since I was sworn into Congress nearly 3 weeks ago, I have had the
opportunity to sign on to pieces of pro-life legislation. I believe
that it is important that we prevent any taxpayer dollars from going to
abortions or organizations that perform abortions.
I believe in the sanctity of life, that life is truly a gift, from
conception to natural death, and I am dedicated to protecting the
rights of the unborn. I support the efforts to reduce the number of
abortions in this country, and will work not only to make abortion
illegal, but to make abortion unthinkable.
You see, as a mother of three beautiful children, the sanctity of
life is very cherished and very personal to me. In fact, it was exactly
23 years ago that I came to Washington, D.C., on a bus from St. Louis,
Missouri, to participate in the March for Life. I know it was exactly
23 years ago because I was 6 weeks pregnant at the time with my second
son, Stephen. Taking a 14-

[[Page H210]]

hour bus ride while experiencing morning sickness is generally not
advisable, but I knew actively participating in the pro-life movement
at a time when I was carrying my unborn child was so very important.
As a mother, I want to raise my children in a world that values life
at all stages. I do not want to raise them in a world that exhibits a
flagrant disregard for human life. And at that moment 23 years ago, I
knew that it was not enough to simply say that I was pro-life; I had
to, indeed, walk the walk.
On the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized
abortion in this country, I am heartbroken for the pain this decision
has caused over the last 40 years, but I am hopeful, hopeful and
inspired by the many young people I have seen today who will be
marching side by side with me for life this Friday. I encourage my
colleagues to join me and show support for human life at all stages.

Joyce Zounis--TV and Radio Producer and Host, Living Beyond the
Bandaide of Abortion

``We will not speak of this again'' were the words spoken
to me as my mom and I, a 15-teen-year old high school
sophomore, walked into the abortion facility. I too wanted to
forget this problem. I was determined to be the one who
decided when I became a mom; NOT a positive reading on a
stick. Already disconnected, my mind was not on what was
about to happen, but of missing cheerleading practice.
The room was filled with many girls and to my mom's dismay
we saw someone we knew. Our secret was blown. I sat in a room
waiting for my name to be called just like any other doctor's
appointment but this was like no other. They said it won't
hurt; it did! They said it would be over real quick; it has
lasted 35 years!
Eleven years after my first abortion, I was having my
seventh. I was in the same waiting room, walking the same
hall, wearing the same gown, taking the same pill, and laying
on the same table. To this abortionist's disgust, my
pregnancy was further along and required more of his time.
Several hours later the vacuum-like noise broke a decade-
old trance--``what have I done?'' I began to weep
uncontrollably, and this enraged the abortionist. His
gestures were rough, and he was morbidly pleased to have me
see his bloody garments when he was finished. The nurse
quickly moved me to the recovery room and gave me crackers.
Within 10 minutes I was rushed out the back door and nauseous
on my way home.
Eleven years, three clinics, two states, seven abortions,
and not once was I told of the physical risks I would suffer
later: the necessity of bi-lateral mammograms and fear of
breast cancer; ovarian cysts; being bed ridden for five
months in my last pregnancy and having to explain the
possibly of ``mommy dying'' to my four young children due to
placenta previa, which resulted in my losing all but two
pints of blood; and, a partial hysterectomy at delivery.
Not once was I told of the emotional trauma I would suffer:
uncontrollable anger flamed by betrayal, deafening seclusion,
and the inability to trust. That child loss through choice
would devour my dignity as I justified the twisted truth. Or
that deception would slowly creep into all areas of my life
including the need to discretely reveal several of my
abortions as miscarriages.
I was never told I would feel like I was the only one going
crazy. Everyone talks about their ``right to choose;'' but no
one talks about the choice. In my case this led to sabotaging
many life joys. I will never forget hearing my firstborn's
heartbeat. Instead of joy, I was in shock, terrified that the
nurses could see right through me and what I had done to my
other children.
I was never told you would need to grieve and cry for your
unborn; that your life would be forever altered by the
horrors of your `chosen' loss, tormented by the innate
longing to hold and know your dead children and their dreams.
Or that my five living children would suffer with an
impossible mom; trapped by the hidden sadness of her gullible
past.
Through divine intervention in 1990, I had participated in
an abortion recovery program. The tears so long forgotten had
begun to form and fall together with the bandaides covering
my shameful sorrows. With grateful relief I was able to
acknowledge, name, and mourn my seven babies and rightfully
publically position them among their siblings.
For over two decades, my now deceased mom joined me in
telling others that abortion hurts everyone: family, friends,
and future generations. We were wrong. Abortion was not the
right answer for my untimely pregnancies.
I now know that you are forever a mom regardless of the age
of your child; 6 seconds, 6 days or 60 years. I was blind to
this but now I see. This momma of 12 children chooses to be a
voice of truth. In pregnancy you carry the baby for only nine
months but in abortion you carry it for a lifetime just with
empty arms.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you very much for that very powerful
statement.
I yield to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Nunnelee).
Mr. NUNNELEE. I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his
leadership in speaking out on this very important issue.
Our Declaration of Independence, our Nation's birth certificate,
states that all are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights, and among those are the right to life; but now, for 40 years,
over 55 million Americans have been denied that basic right to life
guaranteed by our Declaration of Independence.
The Supreme Court got it wrong with Roe, just as they got it wrong
with Dred Scott. Now, I accept the fact that under our system of law
Roe is the law of the land today, but I, along with many millions of
people around America, pray that one day that decision will be
overturned.
While in this body we've had much spirited debate over the right to
life, there's one area where we have found bipartisan agreement, and
that is that taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize a practice
that so many of us find abhorrent. We must protect taxpayers from
funding abortion. That's why, earlier today, I introduced legislation
that would do just that.
Under ObamaCare, the Federal Government is required to sponsor at
least two multistate insurance plans.

{time} 1550

The bill that was introduced earlier today would simply prevent those
plans from paying for abortions, thus making sure that taxpayers around
the Nation are not required to subsidize the taking of life. Now this
isn't new policy, in fact, it's simply an extension of longstanding
Federal policy, and that's why I urge my colleagues to support this
bill.
Recently, President Obama said:

When it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us,
we must act now. Let's do the right thing.

This bill is an effort to do the right thing, to protect taxpayers
from funding the destruction of the most vulnerable among us: the
unborn child.
In closing, let's remember the words of the prophet of old:

This day I call Heaven and Earth as witnesses against you,
that I have set before you life and death, blessings and
curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may
live.

On this 40th anniversary of Roe, let us rededicate ourselves to
choose life.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you so much, Mr. Nunnelee.
I yield to Mr. Pompeo of the Fourth District of Kansas.
Mr. POMPEO. Today, I stand here on the 40th anniversary of one of the
worst decisions of our United States Supreme Court. It was deeply
flawed. Too many Justices spoke of emanations of penumbras but missed
the core principle contained in the Constitution: this notion that
every human being is endowed with this special dignity that we call
life.
The cost of that decision has been enormous: 55 million souls were
not brought into this world. We can feel it in families torn asunder
and in lives that didn't get to become the next great leaders in our
Nation. These lives were lost to each of us. They're lost to the
families. They're lost to our community. They're lost to their Maker.
But I want to talk today about hope. Ever since this decision in
1973, there's been a march. And I was in the Army. When you march, you
march to victory. We've had this special march. We'll have this march
again this week. We'll have it in Kansas. Kansas has a very special
relationship to this march.
In 1991, in Wichita, Kansas, the city which I represent, we held the
Summer of Mercy, where people came together in peace to talk about
these lives that should have been protected but had not been. And this
week, the airlines permitting, I'll be back to watch young people from
all across south central Kansas board buses bound for Washington, D.C.
I'll see them off from churches and cathedrals and synagogues, folks
coming to Washington, D.C., to once again march on this town to demand
that we do everything we can in our power here in Washington, D.C., to
protect every human life.

I'm very proud of the rich history and the contribution that the
citizens of the Fourth District of Kansas have made to this movement.
It is certainly important to me as a matter of faith. But as a matter
of science, we have

[[Page H211]]

this one right as well. We must protect every unborn life. I'm
dedicated to doing so. I look forward to being with that next
generation, these young people coming to Washington, D.C., so this
fight can continue.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield to Vicky Hartzler.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Thank you. I applaud my colleague from New Jersey, and
I thank him for his leadership on this very important issue.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Roe
v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, two rulings which impose legalized abortion
in this country. I was in junior high at the time this ruling came
down, and I really didn't understand the implications. It was only
later when I took a child development class and they showed pictures of
the different stages of the baby's development that I came to realize
this wasn't just talk about a blot of tissue. This procedure ended a
beating heart and denied life into this world. I became pro-life then
and continue to be pro-life now.
This Friday, hundreds of thousands of Americans will come to
Washington to recognize this anniversary. And it's not an anniversary
observed with celebration, but one marked by somber reflection. We
mourn the loss of 55 million aborted boys and girls, innocent children
who were never given the right to live, attend school, go to birthday
parties, participate on little league teams, or become siblings and
peers. We mourn for families who do not know their lost children but
wish they did. We mourn the devastating impact abortion has on our
culture and our consciences.
This anniversary also represents an occasion to renew our commitment
to defending the most fundamental human right: the right to life. We
know that more Americans now describe themselves as pro-life--50
percent--than those that consider themselves pro-choice--41 percent--
and we know that younger Americans have begun to understand that the
protection of their rights cannot be built upon the destruction of an
innocent human being's right to life.
Still, we have work to do. The Federal Government continues to
subsidize family planning clinics that provide abortions. In 2011, the
Nation's largest provider, Planned Parenthood, performed a record
number of abortions, over 330,000 abortions. Most of us in Congress
represent approximately 750,000 people. If you think about it, that's
almost half of a congressional district that was wiped out in 2011 at
the hands of Planned Parenthood clinics alone. Planned Parenthood ended
the beating hearts of these innocent victims while deluding vulnerable
women that their choice wouldn't have any harmful consequences, and
they did so with taxpayer funding, over $500 million in 2011.
This must stop.
Abortion does have consequences. It destroys babies. It harms women
physically and emotionally, and it harms men, too.
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to hear a man speak, who
shared the heartbreak and the shame that he has suffered for over 20
years at the loss of four children that he was responsible for their
abortions. It impacted his marriage, his mental and physical health,
his parenting, and how he was able to do his job.
Abortion has consequences. It deadens our consciences and it
perpetrates the lie that killing the unborn is morally acceptable.
This week, I stand with hundreds of thousands here in Washington who
know better, who understand the truth, that abortion harms us and is
killing off future generations. We observe the 40th anniversary of Roe
v. Wade with the renewed hope that more Americans will see this truth
and honor life.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentlelady for her very eloquent
statement.
I yield to my good friend and colleague, Mr. Huelskamp.
Mr. HUELSKAMP. Thank you. I appreciate the time from such a pro-life
leader.
First of all, my wife, Ang, and I are proud adoptive parents of four
children. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to their birth mothers and
birth families for choosing life for our four children, and I believe
you will be eternally rewarded for your generous choice.
It is reassuring, as was mentioned here, that every year millions of
Americans descend on Washington and our State capitals, including
Kansas, to stand as surrogate voices for the millions of lives taken by
abortion. It's a shame that this event has to happen. But this year,
descending on Washington is more than just about abortion; it's about
religious liberty.
Those in favor of abortion like to cast this debate about rights and
choices rather than rights or wrongs. So if we're to use their terms,
where is the outrage at the fact that Americans increasingly have no
choice, particularly under the President's health care plan, when it
comes to paying for abortion, paying for abortion drugs, and numerous
other things they find morally reprehensible? And where's the outrage
that religious liberty, the first part of the First Amendment, can come
at the expense of this radical agenda?
We in this Congress stand as the people's direct representatives in
Washington and must stand as a check to the most pro-abortion President
in our history. A President's second term is usually about legacy
building, but for the sake of the unborn and for the sake of our
religious liberty, I fear for the legacy that he will attempt to craft
in the next 4 years.

{time} 1600

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. It is a high honor and privilege to yield to
the distinguished majority leader, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Cantor).
Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman.
I come to the floor today to join my colleagues in support of the
March for Life.
It seems that too often in Washington these days the focus is on what
people are against rather than what they are for. But this Friday,
thousands of Americans will gather because of their support of what our
Founders described as one of the unalienable rights endowed by our
Creator: life. Some of those gathered will be Republicans, others
Democrats. Others will belong to no political party at all. They will
belong to every faith and race and will belong to every socioeconomic
demographic.
Those gathered this Friday and those of us here on the floor of the
House this afternoon are joined because we believe that life must be
protected--and must be protected especially for those who have no
ability to protect it themselves.
Since Roe v. Wade in 1973 medical science has made tremendous gains.
Today, expecting parents can watch 3-D images of their young child
playing in the womb. Today, doctors can perform life-saving surgeries
on children while they are still in utero. Today, thanks to medical
science, we know that within 6 weeks after conception these little
lives have a heartbeat and brain waves.
Here in the people's House we are taking steps to defend life, as are
numerous State legislatures throughout the country. But the real heroes
are those men and women who volunteer at pregnancy centers helping
women, and those gathered for the March for Life who are committed to
this mission. They gather this year not only in the name of protecting
life but also to celebrate the life of the founder of the March, Nellie
Gray. We'll all miss her red coat up there on that stage, leading the
March up the hill, but I know Nellie would be as pleased as I am to see
the progress being made for this most important cause--and she would
encourage us never to rest until the job is done.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I want to thank the distinguished majority
leader for his exemplary leadership for many years, but especially as
majority leader, and for reminding all of us that the unborn child,
especially over the last 2 decades, has become the littlest patient,
where microsurgeries and interventions can save children and enhance
their life. I appreciate his extraordinary leadership.
I now yield to our distinguished colleague, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Walberg).
Mr. WALBERG. I thank my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey, and
I thank you for your leadership as a medical doctor.
It is a real special thing in this Chamber that we have pro-life
patriots who represent medicine, the profession of law, mothers,
fathers, people who understand life from the most intimate fashion.

[[Page H212]]

I happen to be a pastor. It was 40 years ago that I had just accepted
the call to my first church out of divinity school. I was busy in that
ministry and getting started and didn't take too much notice of Roe V.
Wade. But it was in 1978 when that issue hit me full square in the
face, when two wonderful young people in my church came to my office
and said, Pastor, we have a problem, and went on to talk about an
unplanned pregnancy that they had. As we discussed, they committed to
the fact that they intended to keep the child as a gift of God. But
ultimately the story didn't go that way because their parents--who were
fine, upstanding church members yet determined that these children
wouldn't have that as a detriment to their life--encouraged them to, as
they called it, terminate the pregnancy.
It broke my heart, and I watch the pain in these two young people go
on even to this very day 40 years later. I committed to my God that I
would stand for life strongly and have the privilege of doing that in
the pastorate, in counseling sessions, on boards of adoption agencies,
and crisis pregnancy centers as well.
It was just a few years ago--6 years to be exact--when I held in my
hands little John Timothy Walberg, my first grandson, along with his
twin brother, Mica Todd Walberg, two little boys born at 24 weeks, 1.12
lbs, 12 inches long, fighting for life. They had been born just down
the corridor from where abortions were being done on those same age
children. I saw these two boys fight for life. Someday I will see John
Timothy again in heaven, but I thank God that little Mica Todd is a
live 6-year-old, growing strong, healthy, a gift of God.
The Framers of our Declaration of Independence went to their knees
many times. They understood the value of politics, but they also
understood the value of truth, truth that came not from man, but truth
that came from God. Truths such as these were set in Psalm 127:3:

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the
womb is a reward.

Jeremiah 1:5:

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you
were born I set you apart.
Psalm 139, where it says:
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made.
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance.
And in Your book were all written the days that were
ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

I end by going back to what ultimately came from understanding of
truth by our Framers and Founders, when they said:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, among them the right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I now yield to the gentleman from New Mexico
(Mr. Pearce).
Mr. PEARCE. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for leading this
discussion one more time.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those were the values
described by our Founding Fathers. And against that backdrop, we must
understand that a Nation is judged the same way that people are judged.
We're judged by how we speak for those least able to speak for
themselves.
The most fragile in any circumstance are those with no voice at all,
the unborn. And on this day, 40 years after a Supreme Court decision,
50 million voices with no representation, no opportunity to speak, how
will this Nation be judged? I think the answer is clear. Our Supreme
Court at that time expressed conflict on when life began, but today's
science leaves no conflict. DNA is established on day one. The
heartbeat is visible soon thereafter.
What Nation would put mothers at odds with their unborn children and
declare it to be a matter of choice? This is no matter of choice; it's
a constitutional question of protection of life. It's a value that--our
Founding Fathers would blanch at our definition today. They would have
no concept that we would have these discussions.
But the hope lies ahead of us because the younger generations are
seeing the technological replays of the unborn and know that it's more
than a mass of tissue. Their standing in greater numbers on behalf of
life, as is every one of us who are speaking here today.
May God bless this Nation as we seek to protect the unborn.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you very much, Mr. Pearce, for that
very moving statement.
I now yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris).
Mr. HARRIS. I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for taking
a pause every year to let us review what happened 40 years ago and
what's happened since. Because some 40 years ago, obviously the Supreme
Court decided that it was no longer the State's prerogative to decide
what laws could regulate abortion. We know some of the consequences of
that: We know we have third trimester abortions; we have abortions for
sex selection; we have abortions without the consent or even the
notification of parents when minors are involved. That's the path we've
gone down. But as the majority says, much has changed in 40 years and
deserves reevaluation.

{time} 1610

I'm an obstetric anesthesiologist. I've spent 25 years in the labor
and delivery suite always wondering about the hypocrisy of being in a
labor and delivery suite doing everything we could to save a 24-week
baby, while across the corridor, 24-week babies were dismembered under
what Roe v. Wade allowed under the law of the land.
The majority leader is right: science has changed tremendously. Why,
40 years ago, we didn't have the Human Genome Project. We didn't
realize the richness and diversity of the human genome, which only
strengthened the notion that each and every human being is absolutely
unique from the moment of conception. And that's in every embryology
textbook you can look into. Every human being is unique from the moment
of conception. And now, as the majority leader said, we have 3-D and 4-
D ultrasound. We can see these human beings that are not blobs of
tissue; they are human beings. So maybe we need to revisit what Roe v.
Wade said.
Let me tell you a story that really makes you think about revisiting
this because, as you know, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars to
fund organizations whose real sole purpose is to end life through
abortion and very little to help the pregnancy centers that the
majority leader spoke of. But in a pregnancy center north about 7 years
ago--it's a pregnancy center in Baltimore--a woman speaking Spanish
called one afternoon. She was on political asylum in the United States
from El Salvador. She was single, had two children already, and was
pregnant with a third. She called the pregnancy center, actually, to
get a referral for an abortion. That day, by coincidence, maybe the
grace of God, a counselor was there who spoke Spanish and spoke to that
woman. That woman really wanted to keep her child; but as many women
facing abortion, she was in a period of crisis. She needed help, not
the help that a Planned Parenthood would offer, but the help that this
pregnancy center offered, by helping her through her pregnancy, giving
her the support she needed, the money she needed, and the things she
needed to have that child.
Now, I know that story because that Spanish-speaking counselor was my
wife. Seven-year-old Jennifer comes over to our house now. I look into
her eyes, and I wonder if anyone is ever going to tell her the real
story of what almost happened and how is someone going to look in her
eyes and tell Jennifer that she was better off because of Roe v. Wade.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I now yield to the distinguished
obstetrician, Dr. Roe, Phil Roe, from Tennessee.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
First, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chris Smith for not just this
year, but for over 30 years of advocating for life and making that one
of his missions in life. Chris, thank you for what you have done not
only for this Congress, but for our country, to make awareness. I
really appreciate it. I can't

[[Page H213]]

thank you enough for what you have personally done and sacrificed.
Exactly 40 years ago next month, I was a young doctor in training in
Memphis, Tennessee, and I was drafted in the U.S. military and left the
country to go to Southeast Asia for a tour of duty there. And something
happened when I was gone. Roe v. Wade passed. It really passed, and I
wasn't even aware of it because I was out of the country. I came back
to my training, which had been interrupted by my military service, and
realized something very fundamentally different had happened to
America.
As an obstetrician, I personally have delivered around 5,000 babies.
In the 31 years I was in medical practice in Johnson City, Tennessee, a
small town in northeast Tennessee, our group had delivered over 25,000
babies--25,000 children. I see these children now as doctors, lawyers,
teachers, Sunday school teachers, soccer coaches, housewives, and
farmers, you name it, bettering our community. I cannot imagine my
community without these young people there. They are the future of this
great Nation.
As Dr. Harris mentioned, I saw when ultrasound went from when it was
just a blob that you saw to being able to visualize the heartbeat 28
days or less post-conception. It's unbelievable to be able to see that.
And to see this child develop is something that I can't explain to you
how fulfilling that is to be able to see that happen. And to have a
``choice'' snuff that out is a law that we have to get right in this
country. Thank goodness minds are changing.
I look around this great room here, this great Chamber, and wonder
what it would be like if different choices were made, the great people
that I've met here in Congress that might not be here had a different
choice been made. In this Chamber, we have a clear responsibility and
duty for those that do not have a voice. The fourth President of our
country, and the architect of the Constitution, James Madison, warned
that the rights of the minority must be protected. The unborn children
of America represent the greatest silent minority that there is. They
are the most innocent among us and deserve the protection we afford all
people in this great country.
Life is a precious miracle from God that begins at conception. As a
physician, I can personally attest after visualizing literally
thousands of ultrasounds. We have to make our laws consistent with
science of today.
It's been mentioned before that one of our government's most
important duties is to protect the most vulnerable among us, and I
pledge to continue to remember and strive toward this as long as I
breathe. I'm heartened that so many others today have chosen to do the
same thing. And may God very much bless the 4 million women last year
in this country who chose life, not a choice to terminate life.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Dr. Roe, thank you very much. Thank you for
your great leadership here.
I would like to now yield to my good friend and colleague, Dr.
Fleming, a medical doctor as well, from the great State of Louisiana.
Mr. FLEMING. I thank the gentleman, my good friend from New Jersey,
for all the great work that you've done in this area and many others,
protecting children; and we're all grateful to you for doing that.
Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago, when the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade
decision was handed down, I was just a college student taking premed
courses with a desire to pursue my goal of being a doctor one day. That
was when Roe v. Wade was passed, and hardly anybody even noticed what a
landmark decision that was that has led now to the death of over 55
million unborn innocents in this country.
Today, after 36 years as a family physician and having delivered
hundreds of babies, I know now more than ever that life begins at
conception. Over the decades, medical technology has only served to
confirm what we know. Ultrasound has given us a powerful window into
the womb that shows us a small, intricately developing human being. We
know now through DNA that every little baby, every little embryo, is a
unique blueprint in history. Protecting these pre-born children must be
our first priority. That's what I strive to do as a family physician in
Louisiana, looking after expectant mothers and their soon-to-be-born
babies.
As a Congressman, my aim has been unchanged. Abortion is an attack on
the very creed that I follow as a physician: first, do no harm. As a
Member of Congress, I've stood firm against abortion, against laws that
have infringed on the conscience protections of medical providers who
want nothing to do with abortion, and I have consistently opposed the
use of taxpayer dollars for abortion services.
Many think that at the termination of a pregnancy that the problem
goes away, but nothing could be further from the truth. We know through
studies that young women who have abortions are more likely to have
depression, more likely to commit suicide, and more likely to have
future miscarriages and problems with their pregnancy.
Mr. Speaker, the problems do not end with the termination of an
innocent life. The abortion epidemic has cost 55 million children their
lives. This is a national tragedy, and it must stop; and on this
heartbreaking anniversary today, 40 years after Roe v. Wade, I'm more
committed than ever to defending the lives of the unborn.

{time} 1620

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I would like to yield to my good friend, Mr.
Schweikert, the gentleman from Arizona.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. To my good friend, Mr. Smith, thank you. Thank you
for managing this.
The last handful of Congressmen that have come up to the mic have
been medical doctors. I get to stand here behind the microphone and
share a slightly different story. This is that one very special time of
year I get to stand here and say ``thank you'' to a woman named Mary
Lynn Sheridan, at the time who was named Mary Lynn Gephart.
She was a 17-year-old who found out she was pregnant, and she was in
the car on the way, at that time in southern California, on her way to,
apparently, Tijuana. And she broke down crying and kept crying more and
kept hyperventilating. The two girlfriends she was with were so
terrified she was getting sick in the car, they turned around and took
her back home. Heaven forbid, she told her mother she was pregnant.
I was born a few months later at Holy Family Unwed Mother's Home in
downtown L.A. The amazing thing is--picture this: You're in your
thirties. You come into work one day. You turn on your computer, and
there's an email saying, Hi, David, you have no idea who I am, but your
sister gave me information. Here's your birth mother.
What do you do? How about if she's never told her family, told her
two daughters that I'm out there?
And I send a really carefully worded note after having a family
meeting, and I had one of the most amazing experiences you could
imagine. Imagine a couple of weeks later, you get a phone call, and
it's this little voice saying, I've prayed for you every single day of
your life. Every March 3, I go to mass and I light candles for you. Are
you okay? Are you happy? Have you had a good life?
All I could tell her through all the tears was, Look, I'm incredibly
lucky. I was adopted by an amazing family. I've gotten to live a great
life. I'm here in Congress, which, actually, in many ways, may have
disappointed her.
But the reason I stand here and tell the story is I've had this
amazing relationship, having now met my birth father, having spent
holidays with my family that has raised me and my birth family. I have
a picture in my office with all these kids and all these people where
all of our families--even my little sister, who has met her birth
family, because my siblings are all adopted, and we get everyone
together and go to Disneyland.
I've noticed there is an amazing change out there where the little
kids come up to you and say, Okay, my mom is your sister, but your
sister is not my mom's sister. The little kids get it. I think with
this I get to come here behind the microphone and say, Thank you. Thank
you for giving me the chance to be alive. Thank you for giving me the
chance to engage in this battle that we have here in Congress of trying
to do good things for our country. Thank you, Mary Lynn Sheridan.
My mother would send my birth mother pictures of me as a baby. So

[[Page H214]]

when I would go to Walnut, California, and go see my birth mother, down
the hallway would be all these pictures of me as a little kid. My birth
mother has developed a very aggressive type of Alzheimer's, and
something amazing has happened in her mind. She can describe all those
photos. In her mind now, I grew up with my two younger sisters there in
Walnut, California. In her mind, I've been with her this whole time.
And that heartbreak she used to describe to me for all those years
wondering what had happened to me is gone.
Thank you, God, and thank you to Mary Lynn for giving me a chance to
be here today. Thank you.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank you so very much for sharing not
only with the Congress, but with the country, that very moving story.
I would like to now yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).
Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding
and for leading this Special Order on this 40th anniversary of Roe v.
Wade.
Forty has a lot of biblical implications. Moses led them wandering in
the desert for 40 years, and Jesus spent for 40 days and 40 nights.
Marilyn and I have been married for 40 years.
There are a number of things I would like to tell in this narrative,
Mr. Speaker. The first thing I would like to relate is the story of
Joyce Zounis, who has delivered to me her narrative, and I will pick
out some of the highlights of it and introduce it into the
Congressional Record.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Will the gentleman yield just briefly to my
good friend, Ms. Foxx, because she does have to leave, and then we'll
go right back.
Mr. KING of Iowa. I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. King. I'm sorry I
could not get down here early, but the Rules Committee kept me.
I want to say all of us here are speaking on an extraordinarily
important topic to our Nation. Life is the most fundamental of all
rights. It is sacred and God-given. But millions of babies have been
robbed of that right in this, the freest country in the world. That is
a tragedy beyond words, and it's a betrayal of what we, as a Nation,
stand for.
Before liberty, equality, free speech, freedom of conscience, the
pursuit of happiness, and justice for all, there has to be life. And
yet, for millions of aborted infants, many pain-capable and many
discriminated because of gender or disability, life is exactly what
they've been denied, often at taxpayer expense. And an affront to life
for some is an affront to life for every one of us.
One day we hope it will be different. We hope life will cease to be
valid on the sliding scale. We hope the error of elective abortions
ushered in by an unelected court will be closed and collectively deemed
one of the darkest chapters in American history. But until that day, it
remains a solemn duty to stand up for life.
Regardless of the length of this journey, we will continue to speak
for those who cannot, and we will continue to pray to the one who can
change the hearts of those in desperation and those in power who
equally hold the lives of the innocent in their hands.
May we, in love, defend the unborn; may we, in humility, confront
this national sin; and may we mourn what abortion reveals about the
conscience of our Nation.
And I thank my colleague from Iowa very much for yielding.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.
Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, and I start
again from the beginning, Mr. Speaker.
This is the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I never imagined that we
would be here 40 years afterwards, 55 million abortions afterwards,
still seeking respect for innocent, unborn human life and the right of
personhood that many over on the other side of the aisle also claim one
should have once they're born. But they give no right, no dignity to
babies who are preborn.
I would like to provide some of the narrative here of a story written
by Joyce Zounis. Joyce's narrative is about her life. Each one of these
are just heart-wrenching, and this is among those heart-wrenching
stories shared now by millions around the country.
Joyce's story starts out with this in bold, ``We will not speak of
this again.''
It's her mother telling her as a 15-year-old girl on the way to the
abortion clinic that there would be no discussion outside of what
happened that day. That's at age 15.
It says that ``the room was filled with many girls,'' of which she
knew weren't able to keep it as a secret.

They said it won't hurt; it did. They said it would be over
real quick; it has lasted 35 years.

And 11 years later--here's the narrative, Mr. Speaker: Eleven years,
three clinics, two States, seven abortions, not once was I told of the
traumatic suffering that would follow, which it did.
And on the seventh abortion, Joyce Zounis writes:

Several hours later, the vacuum-like noise broke a decade-
old trance--``What have I done?''

And as her story continues, she writes about emotional trauma, ``That
child lost through choice would devour my dignity''--they didn't tell
her that. She said, ``I justified my twisted truth.''
That goes on every day here in America, 4,000 times a day in America.
Everyone talks about their right to choose, but no one talks about the
result of the choice.

{time} 1630

She writes, ``I will never forget hearing my firstborn's heartbeat,''
a thing of joy for most people.

Instead of joy, I was in shock, terrified that the nurses
could see right through me and what I had done to my other
children. I was never told you would need to grieve and cry
for your unborn, that your life would be forever altered by
the horrors of your ``chosen'' loss.

Put this in this perspective: 40 years of Roe v. Wade. How did we get
here, Mr. Speaker? It's important for us to understand how the creeping
decisions of a Supreme Court creep in on the innocent unborn lives of
55 million babies who were victims of abortion, of millions of mothers
and of fathers who have suffered the trauma and the heartbreak of
finding out afterwards that they carried the responsibility and the
burden on their consciences that altered them for a lifetime.
It changed their relationships with their other children and with
their family members, and it changed their relationships with brothers
and sisters and mothers and fathers that they interrelate with in their
daily lives.
In 1965, we had a Supreme Court decision called Griswold v.
Connecticut, and that was the camel's nose under the tent. At that
time, Connecticut had passed State legislation that had prohibited the
sale of contraceptives. It was supported by the Catholic Church, of
which I am a member, and it was litigated to the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court found a right to privacy, which was manufactured out of
thin air. That right to privacy prohibited banning the sale of
contraceptives to married couples. That ``right to privacy'' phrase
became the foundation, from 1965 until 1973, for Roe v. Wade and Doe v.
Bolton. Those two cases came together and essentially said that you
have a right to an abortion at any time, for any reason--abortion on
demand. That was the conclusion of the two cases, Doe v. Bolton, in
'73.
We went on. We got some opportunities to try to make some changes
here in Congress; and the beginning of it was the ban on partial birth
abortion, which was litigated to the Supreme Court and was turned down.
I arrived here on the Judiciary Committee, and we rewrote that
language, under the leadership of Steve Chabot of Ohio, so that it
would comply with the decision of the Court. It was litigated across
the countryside, and I went into the courtroom of Judge Kopf in
Lincoln, Nebraska, as he had concluded that the findings of Congress
were inferior to the preparation work of the attorneys in that court.
Someone had to speak up. I did so in Lincoln that day, and let him
know that our congressional findings were deeply deliberated and well
founded. I did so through the press, and I found out that he reads the
papers. What happened finally was we were able to have a case sustained
to the Supreme Court that at least banned the gruesome process of
partial birth abortion.
In the process of these debates that we've had, Mr. Speaker, it has
been useful. We've marched here. This will be the 40th year that
hundreds of thousands and, by now, millions of people--

[[Page H215]]

especially young people--have come to Washington, D.C., and have gone
out to the basilica for the pro-life vigil mass--or I've seen as many
as 15,000 people out at the basilica--all praying together, all singing
together, all joining together in an effort to protect and defend
innocent unborn human life, and then have come the next day here to the
Mall in Washington and marched together from the Mall all the way
around to the Supreme Court and then dispersed across the Capitol
Grounds to the various receptions and offices so that they could bring
their influence.
This has changed the conscience of America. This has informed
millions of now mothers who might have given up their babies to
abortion instead. I'm encouraged by the path that we've taken. I have
to believe that, over the years, the millions of voices raising
together in hymns and prayer and in the marching have had its effect
and is having its effect. There will be a day when we see the end of
Roe v. Wade. There will be a day when we respect and revere every human
life from that instant, or moment, of conception until natural death.
That's what I work for. That's what I pray for. That's what many
Members of the Pro-Life Caucus here in Congress have and many people
across the countryside have.
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to live in a country that has so many
millions of people who have great respect for innocent unborn human
life, and I will be forever grateful if I live to see the day that Roe
v. Wade is finally set aside and that life is protected in law.

Joyce Zounis--TV and Radio Producer & Host living beyond the bandaide
of abortion

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of Georgia). The time of the
gentleman from New Jersey has expired.
Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2013, the Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry) for 30
minutes.

General Leave

Mr. FORTENBERRY. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5
legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nebraska?
There was no objection.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, this Friday, hundreds of thousands of
people will gather in Washington for a peaceful march, exercising the
most American of values--the right to assemble and the right to freedom
of speech. Among the people who will come are multitudes of young
persons from all over America--young people who are the inheritors of
the great civil rights traditions of this land. These young people are
pro-life. Mr. Speaker, they're really saying something pretty simple.
They are saying that the time for honesty has come, that the time for
a new national conversation has come, that the time for the violence to
end has come, and that the time since the Supreme Court decision that
legalized abortion on demand some 40 years ago has inflicted a deep
wound on ourselves and the very soul of this country.
Over the past few decades, we have witnessed an evolving
desensitization to abortion. It has become too easy to think of
abortion as a procedure, as something clinical, somehow normal,
removed. Disguised in the mantle and vocabulary of health, minds and
hearts can easily become numb to what abortion really is, to what it
really does and to who really dies.
But the youth among us, they know better. They know that women
deserve better.
Abortion is so often the result of abandonment. A woman, in not
knowing where to turn, falls into the grasps of the abortion industry,
which says, We can quietly make this go away. There are no consequences
here; just pay over there. But the consequences are so very real.
Abortion is an act of violence. The woman so often carries the wound
from this act of violence imposed upon her. Her unborn child dies. The
abortion industry profits from this pain, and the other responsible
party--the man--escapes his responsibilities. This is why the early
feminist movement saw abortion as another form of male domination over
women.
Mr. Speaker, young people, they know this. They sense this. They know
instinctively that the Supreme Court's decision was a dinosaur
decision, not based on science. They know that the consequences of
abortion are very real, and they're simply saying there's a better way.
There has to be a better way. We should be loving enough and caring
enough. We certainly are big enough. We certainly have resources enough
to rally as a community and help a person no matter how difficult her
circumstances. They are saying no woman should be left alone or in
isolation. We are a community committed to the beautiful gift of life.
Mr. Speaker, that's the message from these young people who will gather
by the tens of thousands this Friday in Washington, and I'm proud to
stand with them.
With that, I yield to my good friend, Congressman Smith.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend for yielding, and I
applaud his tremendous leadership over the years in defense of the
culture of life, for being consistent on all human rights issues--from
child soldiers and combating that abuse of children to the abuse of
unborn children by way of abortion. So I thank him for that. I would
just make a few points, because we are coming to a close, Mr. Speaker.

[[Page H216]]

Today, doctors diagnose illness and disability before birth. New and
exciting breakthrough health care interventions for the unborn,
including microsurgeries, are leading to an ever-expanding array of
successful treatments and cures of sick or disabled unborn babies. A
few other Members have made this point very clearly, as do I, which is
that unborn children are society's littlest patients, and they might
need health care just like any one of us.

{time} 1640

In stark contrast, abortion methods rip, tear, dismember or
chemically poison the fragile bodies of unborn babies to death, and
abortion pills cause premature expulsion from the womb and death. There
is nothing benign, compassionate, or just about an act that utterly
destroys the life of a child and often physically, psychologically, and
emotionally harms women. And despite the near total absence of any
meaningful reporting by the news media, women get hurt and even die
from legal abortions.
According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control report, from
1973 to 2008, at least 403 women tragically died in the United States
from legal abortion. And that sad fact is almost certainly a
significant undercount because the methodology employed by CDC is
passive and voluntary and likely to miss instances of both mortality
and morbidity.
In the years since CDC's ``most recent report,'' many more women have
surely died, like Tonya Reaves, a 24-year-old woman who died last July
from a botched second trimester dismemberment abortion, a D&E, at a
Chicago area Planned Parenthood abortion mill.
The abortion industry, Mr. Speaker, excels at surface appeal argument
and at propaganda. Indeed, the misleading term ``safe abortion''
purposefully misses the point that no abortion, legal or illegal, is
ever safe for the baby, and all are fraught with negative health
consequences for the mother.
Today, at least 104 credible studies show significant psychological
harm, major depression, and/or elevated suicide risk to women who
abort. The Times of London reported that:

Senior psychiatrists say that new evidence has uncovered a
clear link between abortion and mental illness in women who
have had no previous history of psychological problems.
They've found that women who've had abortions have twice the
level of psychological problems, three times the level of
depression as women who have given birth or who have never
been pregnant.

One comprehensive study out of New Zealand in 2006 found that 78.6
percent of the 15- to 18-year-olds who had had abortions displayed
symptoms of major depression as compared to 31 percent of their peers.
Mr. Speaker, there are at least 115 studies that show significant
association between abortion and subsequent premature births. You never
read about this in the news media.

Researchers Shah and Zao show a 36 percent increase for pre-term
birth after one abortion and a staggering 93 percent increased risk
after two.
What does this mean for children? Pre-term birth is the leading cause
of infant mortality in the industrialized world after congenital
anomalies. Pre-term infants have a greater risk of suffering chronic
lung disease, sensory deficits, cerebral palsy, cognitive impairments,
and behavioral problems. Low birth weight is similarly associated with
neonatal mortality and morbidity.
These are consequences that are visited upon a woman later on. She's
never told this at the abortion clinic that subsequent children that
she will have later in her life could suffer prematurity and low birth
weight.
And, finally, the extremism of the pro-abortion industry is shocking.
Last spring, the House of Representatives took up Trent Frank's bill
to ban sex-selection abortion. The bill garnered a solid majority, 246-
168 in the House. President Obama, however, made it absolutely clear
that he would veto the sex-selection abortion prohibition should it be
sent to the White House.
While sex selection targets almost exclusively girls for
extermination, simply because they're girls, the egregious practice
remains legal in most of our States. In fact, only four States--
Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Arizona--and several countries,
including the United Kingdom, prohibit sex-selection abortion. And yet
we have not been able to get that legislation enacted into law, and
it's opposed by President Obama.
Mr. Speaker, we need to stand up for life. Again, I want to thank my
good friend and colleague from Nebraska for having this second Special
Order on defending life. And like Jeff, I do look forward to the March
for Life on January 25 where we will all rally in defense of the
defenseless.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. If the gentleman would perhaps be interested in
entering into a bit of a dialogue, and I'm sorry I missed your earlier
statement, but let me say to you, thank you for your stalwart
leadership, your deep commitment to the beautiful gift of life, for
saying to America consistently, constantly, fervently, with heart and
emotion for 30-plus years, I think you've been here.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thirty-three.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. There is a better way. We can do better than this.
Women deserve better. But in your last comment, you touched upon the
issue of sex-selected abortion, and I wonder if in your earlier
comments you talked about policies, such as the one-child policy in
China, which are taking hold, sadly, in other parts of South Asia, how
they are affecting population imbalance and how it ends up being the
little girls, the unborn little girls who are primarily the targets of
these state-imposed coercions on families. So you have this very
significant imbalance in the population because of the targeting of
unborn little girls in the womb for sex-selected abortion. Perhaps you
touched on that earlier.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. No, I did not.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. It's a very important part of this overall
discussion, to talk about the consequences of where all of this leads.
And in a country like China, which has imposed this brutality upon its
own people, the women who have come here undercover, we've had them in
our hearings. They've had to be behind screens because they fear
reprisal from the Chinese Government toward their families, who've
talked about being victimized by coercive abortion, that issue plus the
issue of how this is created, and it is targeted primarily at unborn
girls, the grave injustice of that.
I know you're so learned and have such details on that subject,
perhaps you can re-raise that if you didn't earlier talk about it.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for
raising that important issue.
The People's Republic of China doesn't have a pro-life movement per
se. The government is a dictatorship. Regrettably, going back to 1979,
they enacted with great push and encouragement from the United States
and from the West, Europe especially, a one-child-per-couple policy
where brothers and sisters are illegal, where women are systematically,
forcibly aborted, and forced sterilization is commonplace to achieve
quotas. Not only does a woman have to get a birth authorization from
the Government of China to have a baby; if she has an out-of-plan
birth, she is aborted forcibly.
Over the years, as chairman of the China Commission and as chairman
of the Human Rights Committee of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I've
chaired 43 congressional hearings on human rights in China; and many of
those were focused on, as you pointed out, women who had to be behind
screens to tell their story about the gross indignity, the
exploitation, the crimes against humanity that had been committed
against them.
In China today, there are approximately 100 million, maybe more,
missing daughters, the direct consequence of sex-selection abortion and
what is often referred to as gendercide, the deliberate killing of a
little girl simply because she is a girl.
In her book ``Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the
Consequences of a World Full of Men,'' Mara Hvistendahl traces the
sordid history of sex-selection abortion as a means of population
control. And almost no one knows about this. You'll never read about
this in the local papers. You don't hear about it on the major news
broadcasts. She writes:

By August 1969, when the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development and the Population Council convened

[[Page H217]]

another workshop on population control, sex selection had
become a pet scheme.

Hvistendahl writes:

If a reliable sex-determination technology could be made
available to a mass market, there was a rough consensus that
sex-selection abortion would be an effective,
uncontroversial, and ethical way of reducing the global
population.

What that means is that you kill the girl child in the womb, you end
one life, and that girl who will never grow up to be a woman because
she has been exterminated because she happened to be a girl, will never
be a mother. So it is a means of population control. It is absolutely
an egregious violation of human rights, and yet our own President
refuses to support a ban on sex-selection abortion. He talked about we
the people and inclusion yesterday. Where's the inclusion of all unborn
babies, but those who are particularly targeted for elimination, the
girl child?

{time} 1650

And I would also add, finally, Live Action, an undercover sting
operation that they had done--and it's on the Web, you can watch it,
you can watch the raw footage, liveaction.org--in their series,
``Gendercide in America,'' they showed Planned Parenthood personnel in
this country advising undercover female investigators how to procure
sex-selection abortions. I watched that and was sickened by the
admonishment, the so-called counseling that was all caught on tape.
One staffer tells the investigator to wait until her baby is 5 months
along, get the ultrasound. That's when you can determine the gender of
the child, boy or girl, and if it's a girl, that's when you can kill
it.
And it was all made very clear. The investigators were laying out a
scenario where, if it's a girl, I want the girl child to be destroyed.
And there was Planned Parenthood accommodating that to the nth degree.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. If the gentleman would yield for a moment, I think
it's important, an important tangent. It's not tangential. It's an
element of this discussion because it shows once we give up on this
basic fundamental human right, once we let go of our civil rights
tradition and we don't include every person, including those who are
most vulnerable in the womb, we can see the consequences. Maybe not
here just yet, to a large degree, but we can certainly see the
consequences of what I talked about earlier in terms of the
desensitization of what abortion really is.
So in other places it's lent itself to coercive population control,
and even to the shocking horror of taking the life of little girls
simply because they're a girl. Now, that still bothers our conscience
here in this country, but you can see how it's related to the deeper
problem of once we start down this pathway, we desensitize ourselves to
the hard, to the important reality that the life within is deserving of
protection; that women who perhaps are in very difficult circumstances
deserve better than this, deserve a fullness of commitment from you and
me and the United States Congress and communities of concern everywhere
that there is a better way.
We do not have to do this to one another. We do not have to impose
this wound upon women. We do not have to think in this paradigm when
there are hard circumstances. We can do it differently.

And I think it's important to have a discussion about the broader
consequences of what is happening all around us because we desensitize
ourselves in what I call a dinosaur decision, because it wasn't based
on science. We didn't have the fullness of technology back then, which
fortunately helped so many of us understand just how that small, tiny
little life is viable, is real, and is growing and can reach its
fullness of potentiality if we just nurture it.
And sometimes people who are in circumstances that are tough and
difficult and need a little help with that nurturing, they deserve that
support and help. That's our message. That's our message.
So if we can turn this back and build upon a new ideal that life is
beautiful, life is a gift, it is worthy of support, not only just from
individuals but from the culture at large, I think we'll go a long way
towards stopping this aggressive, horrific assault that is happening,
primarily in other places but is a threat to potentially happen here,
where you're even going so far as to select out the little girl for
termination because she's a girl.
This is particularly hard for me, to be honest with you, because I
have five daughters. Just kind of happened that way. And I remember, in
our last ultrasound for the baby, she's 7, I still call her a little
baby, but when we saw that child in the womb, my youngest one at that
time looked at me and said, Dad, I hope it's a boy so you have someone
to play with.
But technology has helped us understand that life, the nature of that
life. And so that's why the Supreme Court decision was not scientific,
terribly misguided, has inflicted a deep wound upon us, has given us a
false notion of choice and freedom, which tickles the ear, sounds good
at one level, but the consequences are oh so deep and real for the
individual, for those who are responsible and have been able to escape
their responsibility, for geopolitical movements now that have ended up
in coercive population control measures, which is grievously unjust,
particular to women in far away places.
Going back to what I said as well, if you'd like, describe some of
the testimony that we heard from the women who came from China in
secret, who had to be, again, behind screens because we were fearful,
and they were as well, for reprisals against their families back in
China simply because they dared stand up and say, the government should
not impose coercive abortion upon me.
There was one woman, as I recall, who was in tears. She had four
abortions imposed upon her by the government.
You recall that hearing last year because you were responsible for
it, and I think it's a great credit to your leadership.
But again, as hard as this is to look at, as painful as it is, I
don't think there's been a more powerful hearing in which I've
participated in the United States Congress, hearing from the victim of
a government-imposed, coerced abortion and what the consequences were
on her.
I'm sorry. Perhaps you had raised that earlier. I didn't have the
privilege of hearing your earlier talk, but I think that perspective is
important as well.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my friend for yielding and for
raising again another very important point. You know, at several of
these hearings, which were covered very scarcely by the news media,
unfortunately, we had some powerful witnesses from women who are
actually the victims of coercive abortion.
Over the many years we've had such hearings, and when they tell their
story, and they talk about the helplessness and almost hopelessness of
the situation, trying to evade family planning cadres in China as they
hunt them down.
You know, most people are unaware of the fact that it begins with
economic coercion. If you have a baby out of plan, you are fined if you
do not voluntarily walk into the abortion mill for the child to be
destroyed. And many women want those children.
One of the women we had testify, her name was Wuijan. She was a
Chinese student attending a U.S. university, and part of her
testimony--these are her words--she said, when she was rounded up,
literally grabbed by the family planning cadres and thrown into a van,
totally against her will, she said:

The room was full of moms who had just gone through a
forced abortion. Some moms were crying. Some moms were
mourning. Some moms were screaming. And one mom was rolling
on the floor with unbearable pain.

Then Wuijan said that it was her turn, and through her tears she
described her journey into hell. Here is a woman, just like so many
others that we heard from, who were literally trussed, picked up,
arrested.
I had a woman back in the 1990s, who was pretty much smuggled out of
China, who ran one of the family planning centers in Fujian Province,
and she self-described herself: ``By day I was a monster, by night a
wife and

[[Page H218]]

mother of one.'' And she talked about it, and she got asylum here
eventually.
But she talked about how she would use every part of the police state
to ensure that women, even if they evaded family planning cadres up to
the ninth month--to drag her in and to kill the baby, and if it's very
late in the pregnancy, with a poison shot of formaldehyde or some other
substance right to the soft part of the brain to kill the baby.
These are crimes against humanity. They are ever-present throughout
China. And again, they're missing 100 million girls, maybe more,
because of gendercide and the loss of life. There's no precedent.
There's no example that even comes close of a government using abortion
as a tool of population control and the like. And it came right out of
the population control movement and what happened in the early or late
sixties and especially into the seventies, right here in the United
States.
In 1984, I say to my friend, Mr. Fortenberry, 29 years ago I offered
the first amendment on this floor, from this podium, to a foreign aid
bill to deny funding to any organization, such as the U.N. Population
Fund, that is complicit in China's forced abortion policy and
involuntary sterilization. It passed, and it morphed into what became
known as the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, offered on the appropriations bill
by Congressman Jack Kemp.
After all of these years, it is astonishing to me that we still have
so many Members of Congress, we have an administration, in the Obama
administration, that is, at best, indifferent, and I would say, at
worst supportive of these crimes by giving money to the groups that are
on the ground enabling these crimes against women. The Obama
administration has enabled this cruel policy by its silence and its
financial support to the tune of some $50 million a year to the U.N.
Population Fund.
We passed, in this House, a prohibition. They, unfortunately, ignore
it, do findings that do not comport with the reality on the ground, and
then end up sending this money.

{time} 1700

And I met with a woman whose name is Peng Peiyun, who ran the family
planning program in China, I say to my friend, Mr. Fortenberry, for
several hours in a conversation in Beijing. She kept coming back to the
fact that the U.N. Population Fund was there on the ground and found
nothing but voluntary abortions. Of course, there are a loss of lives,
too, but no coercion. So the whitewashing that the U.N. Population Fund
has been able to provide to this egregious violation of women's rights
in China, and now we today, under the Obama administration, are funding
it, Mr. Fortenberry. So it's something that has to end. We should be on
the side of life and respect, not enabling such terrible things.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. As we're winding down here--we only have a few
moments left--I think perhaps we can talk about some good news as well
as some common ground. Because everybody listening to this and this
important dialogue, this highly sensitive dialogue, may not agree with
us. But the vast majority of Americans do agree that the government
should not be entangled in this. In other words, taxpayer money should
not be going for the provision of abortion. That's one bit of good
news.
The second bit of good news, I think, is, again, those of us who have
been here a little while, who have been in these trenches trying to beg
and plead for an increase of awareness as to what the consequences of
abortion are, young people are recognizing that, again, there's got to
be a better way. They've lived with this through their generation.
They've seen the scars, seen the wounds, seen the effects on society.
And they're coming forward and saying, Women deserve better. Can't we
be loving enough, can't we be big enough to do something different
here?
And I think that's a great sign of encouragement for two reasons. One
is, projecting forward, maybe we can reshape society. But also, heal
the wounds that have already occurred. Because they are substantive and
deep. And I think it's important. And young people, I believe,
recognize this. They're there saying, Don't make this choice. It's a
false choice, particularly if you feel coerced or abandoned. There are
people here ready to help, love, get you through. But if there is that
deep wound, we're also here to heal and help. And I think it's just
such a beautiful message.
It inspires me that so many young people would come to the Capitol
and say, Legislators, older generation of America, let's change this
paradigm. Let's change this idea. Because it's not serving our country.
It's not serving our people. It's leaving us deeply, deeply hurt. And
we can do better.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. One of the things that is so noble about the
pro-life movement is that it loves and cares for women during the time
of their crisis. And if they do procure an abortion, they are there,
again, with Project Rachel and all of these outreaches to help women
find reconciliation and peace.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. And men.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. And men, too, have lost track of the number
of women we have met that found that peace. We had four women today at
the 40 Years of Victims who told their story of the terrible crisis of
the abortion but also the reconciliation and peace that they found
later.
You make a very good point, Mr. Fortenberry, about the young
generation. I have never seen more pro-lifers at the March for Life
than we are seeing now. And I went to the first one back in 1974 with
my wife, Marie, and then made every one thereafter. When I speak in
schools, I used to get a great deal of pushback in answer to a question
on the right to life. There are still people who push back, but many
students say, It's life. Ultrasound has helped enormously. It's a
window to the womb. We all remember Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the founder
of NARAL, who became a pro-lifer. He said, ``If wombs had windows,
abortion would end.'' The ultrasound is a window to the womb. And you
can see that magnificent unborn child moving, shaking around, sucking
his or her thumb, doing somersaults inside the womb. Blobs of tissue
and protoplasm don't do this.
I think this young generation also has another perspective as well.
One of my favorite musicals is ``Les Miserables.'' My wife and I have
seen it twice--once in New York, once here in Washington. And now the
movie. There's a very haunting song in ``Les Miserables,'' a song by
Marius, one of the chief people in that musical, Victor Hugo's ``Les
Miserables,'' and it's called, ``Empty Chairs and Empty Tables.'' And
he says, ``There's a grief that can't be spoken, there's a pain,'' and
it goes on and on, ``Empty chairs and empty tables where my friends
will live no more.''
We have empty chairs and empty tables. A third of this generation has
been killed by abortion. You look to your left, you look to your right
in a classroom or at a diner, there are missing children and now young
adults even up to the age of 40, since 40 years ago Roe v. Wade was
handed down. Empty chairs, empty tables. And I would add to that, empty
cribs.

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Again, I thank the gentleman for your poignant
words, your passion, your deep belief in this. So I think now is the
time to let the healing begin. Let's put the past behind us. Let's look
forward, marching arm-in-arm with the new civil rights movement that
these young people are the great inheritors of, to say that we as a
Nation can all stand for the beautiful gift of life.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, the great Henry Hyde once said,
``Our moment in history is marked by a mortal conflict between a
culture of life and a culture of death. God put us in the world to do
noble things, to love and to cherish our fellow human beings, not to
destroy them. Today we must choose sides.''
It is so very important that those of us here remember that we as
Americans, and even more so as members of this body, have a special
stewardship that perhaps no other people on Earth have.
While every human being is called of God to make the best difference
they can in this life for their fellow human beings, in America that
calling weighs heavier upon us as citizens than it does any other
people on Earth. Because this Nation was founded on the timeless
premise that all men are created equal; with the image of God stamped
on each soul; with the rights to LifE, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness--in that order.
Yet today marks 40 years of legalized abortion-on-demand in America.
Of over 50 million

[[Page H219]]

innocent unborn babies slaughtered before they see the light of day.
I both hope and believe that the conscience of America has begun to
stir. I mourn the genocide marked by today's tragic anniversary, Mr.
Speaker. But more than that, I look prayerfully forward to the day when
the same America that rushed into Europe to arrest the Nazi holocaust
will muster that same courage here at home, and future generations of
children will walk in the sunlight of freedom. May it be so, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, today we as a Nation reflect on the 40th
anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. It is
estimated that in the 40 years since that fateful decision, 55 million
abortions have been performed in the United States of America--millions
of unique and precious human lives ended by the unspeakable tragedy of
abortion.
As a matter of morality, history, science, reason, and most of all
faith, I can come to no other conclusion but that every human life
begins at conception and every life is worthy of protection. We have a
sacred responsibility to protect the innocent and defend the rights of
those who are unable to defend themselves. The struggle to protect life
is truly a struggle to change hearts and minds. It requires faith,
reason, debate, action, and compassion.
Often we hear that we ought to do something for the least of these;
truly, unborn life is the least of these. Let us recognize it. Let us
hold it precious. Let us live up to our responsibilities from the
Creator and grant those yet to be born that precious right to life.
Later this week, thousands of citizens will fight for the rights of
the unborn by participating in the March for Life in Washington, D.C.
Thousands more will march to support the inalienable right to life in
local events in Texas and around the country. I applaud those who
attend, both in body and spirit, for their determination to uphold the
sanctity and dignity of human life and wholeheartedly support their
efforts.
Mrs. ROBY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 40th anniversary of
the monumental court decision Roe v. Wade.
Since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, 40 years ago
today, 54 million abortions have been performed throughout the United
States. Over 4,000 babies will be aborted today alone and over the
course of 2013, 1.4 million children in the United States will not be
granted the gift of life.
Mr. Speaker, I am unapologetically pro-life. I believe that the
miracle of human life begins at conception. I believe that every human
being has the unalienable right to life and that this right must be
protected by law.
As a proud member of the Pro-Life Caucus, I respect the sanctity of
human life in all of its stages. Science proves that human beings
develop at an astonishingly rapid pace and that the life of a child
begins long before he or she is born into this world. At about 22 days
after conception, a child's heart begins to circulate his own blood,
unique to that of his mother's and his heartbeat can be detected on
ultrasound.
Americans have a proud tradition of standing up and fighting for
those who can't fight for themselves. As a woman, a wife, a mother of
two children, and as the Representative of Alabama's Second
Congressional District, I'm committed to fighting for the unborn.
Recently, my home state of Alabama became the fifth state in the
Nation to pass a measure banning abortions after 20 weeks, which is the
point where unborn children can feel pain. I applaud the Alabama
Legislature for taking such a strong stance on abortion and for
protecting those who do not have a voice.
As the 113th Congress begins, I will continue to do everything in my
power to fight for the unborn, prevent taxpayer money from funding
abortions, and protect our democratic system from the encroachment of
an all-powerful judiciary.
Mr. Speaker, today is a time to celebrate the miracle of life and
mourn those whose lives were unjustly ended. Let us use the 40th
anniversary of Roe v. Wade as an occasion to reaffirm our beliefs and
vow to fight for the life of every child.
Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today we remember the children
who have died as a direct result of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe
v. Wade, and Doe v. Bolton, which were decided 40 years ago today.
In the 40 years since that terrible day, my wife, Sandy, and I have
been blessed with six children. It has been our privilege to raise them
and watch them grow and mature, and three of our children are now
married and have begun to have children of their own. Sandy and I now
have eight beautiful grandchildren, and each of them have unique
talents and personalities. I look forward to welcoming more
grandchildren and great grandchildren into our family in the future.
In the 40 years since that terrible day, an estimated 55 million
innocent children have died as a result of abortions performed in the
United States. In 2011 alone, Planned Parenthood reported performing
333,000 abortions. The death of 333,000 children in that one year
represents more lives lost than if the entire population of Orlando,
Florida, was suddenly extinguished. Over the past 40 years, abortion
has claimed nearly three times the total population of the State of
Florida, or the same number of people who lived in the Northeast United
States as of July 1, 2012.
Life is a gift, and each and every day, I am grateful for the gift of
my children, and my grandchildren. Today, I mourn the loss of the 55
million children who never had the opportunity to live and grow and to
one day have children of their own. I mourn for their families, who
never had the joy of knowing them. I mourn for our nation, which will
never benefit from the lives and the love of these children, who would
have been our sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, our friends,
and our neighbors.
We must never cease to fight for life, nor cease to be grateful for
our own.
Mr. LONG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 40th
Anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade. I was a
senior in high school when the case was decided and I still remember
that decision vividly today. I could not understand how the Court could
legalize the stopping of a beating heart on demand. I thought it was
outrageous then and the intervening years since then have done nothing
to change my opinion. My opinion has been reinforced by the tragic
record of abortion. Fifty five million innocent children have been lost
and countless women have suffered both mental and physical pain as a
result of abortion.
We are a nation of 315 million people. That means that over one sixth
of our friends, neighbors, and family members are not with us today
because of abortion. Millions of children have been denied the right to
live their own lives, to skin their knees on the playground, to go on
their first date, to graduate from high school, and to go on to have
families of their own. All those unique, amazing lives were ended
before we were even able to know them.
The tragedy of abortion doesn't stop with the loss of so many
innocent children. Like any medical procedure, abortion can have
devastating side effects and complications that cause pain and
suffering. Mental anguish, regret, and other emotional pain can also
result from abortion.
It is time for us as a nation to reject such a dismal and
heartbreaking procedure. It is time for us to reject the cold callous
indifference of abortion that abandons women and their precious
children. We're a nation that takes care of our own, that protects the
most innocent and vulnerable among us, and stands up for justice for
women and children. As Roe v. Wade shows, justice does not flow from
the pen of a judge. Justice comes from the loving heart of a human
being and from the natural law enshrined in the Declaration of
Independence. ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.'' Today, let us continue the fight for Life and justice
for all Americans and especially for unborn children and their mothers.
Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I solemnly rise today in memory of more than
50 million innocent lives who were lost as a result of the Roe v. Wade
decision that was handed down 40 years ago today.
As Americans, we have a moral obligation to protect the rights of the
unborn, and to protect the sanctity of life.
That is why I was proud to cosponsor two pieces of legislation that
would prohibit the hard-earned dollars of taxpayers that make up family
planning grants from being awarded to any entity that performs
abortions.
Introduced by Rep. Diane Black and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, these bills
will prohibit hundreds of millions of federal taxpayer dollars from
subsidizing large abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood.
As a Christian, a father, and a Member of the Pro-Life Congressional
Caucus, I am deeply committed to preserving our nation's traditional
family values and will always be a strong advocate for policies that
value the sanctity of life.

____________________