[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 4 (Thursday, January 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H156-H162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT IS ALIVE AND WELL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Blum). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 2015, 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 our 
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, since 1973, at least 58 million 
unborn children have been killed by abortion, a staggering loss of 
children's precious lives, a death toll that equates with the entire 
population of England.
  Despite this staggering loss of children's lives and the sad fact 
that President Obama is using stealth, deception, and coercive power of 
the State to promote abortion violence, including the massive public 
funding of abortion on demand in ObamaCare, the pro-life movement is 
alive and well and making serious, significant, and sustained progress.
  Yesterday Congress passed landmark legislation to end taxpayer 
subsidies for Planned Parenthood, and special thanks go to Speaker 
Ryan, Majority Leader McCarthy, Chairman Price, and others in 
leadership for crafting this lifesaving legislation.
  In this Congress alone, powerful pro-life measures have passed, 
including the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the Pain-Capable 
Unborn Child Protection Act, and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors 
Protection Act.
  On the State level, 282 pro-life laws have been enacted since 2010, 
including laws to stop dismemberment abortions, require a 72-hour 
waiting period, and to provide informed consent.
  With the March for Life only a couple days away, pro-lifers are more 
determined, faith-filled, and hope-filled than ever.
  Millennials are overwhelmingly pro-life. As the former head of the 
pro-abortion group NARAL observed, after witnessing a recent pro-life 
march, the March for Life, she said: I just thought, my gosh, they are 
so young. There are so many of them, and they are so young.
  Public opinion polls concur that more Americans, especially women and 
young people, are pro-life. Seventy-one percent of the millennials 
opposed taxpayer funding for abortion, 69 percent of the women. Fifty-
nine percent of women favor a limit on abortion at at least 20 weeks 
when the unborn child is capable of feeling pain. The Gallup Poll has 
found that Planned Parenthood's favorability rating among women has 
dropped 24 points in the last two decades alone.
  A few minutes ago, Mr. Speaker, Speaker Paul Ryan enrolled H.R. 3762, 
sponsored by Dr. Price, a bill to roll back much of ObamaCare and to 
defund Planned Parenthood. Yes, the President, President Obama, the 
abortion President, is all but certain to veto that bill to defund 
Planned Parenthood, and I just have to say, Mr. Speaker, How sad is 
that? The President has everything, but, sadly, there is no room, no 
empathy for the babies who will be exterminated. That is tragic. 
Hopefully he will have a change of heart at some point in his career, 
and hopefully it will be within weeks.
  I now yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, 43 years ago the Roe v. Wade 
decision resulted in the death of 57 million Americans; 57 million 
unborn children lost their lives, over a million children per year. It 
is an amazing statistic.
  Louisiana has traditionally ranked as one of the most pro-life States 
in the Nation. We have some amazing organizations that are doing great 
work to educate our citizens about the pro-life movement, organizations 
like Louisiana Right to Life and Louisiana Family Forum. The head of 
the Family Research Council is a constituent of our district.
  There is one particular pro-life advocate that I would like to call 
out, Dr. Al Krotoski, who recently passed away, in fact, just on 
January 1 of this year. He literally gave his life to advocating for 
pro-life causes. His knowledge, his scientific background with his 
Ph.D., his M.D., and his master's in public health shaped him and 
helped him to shape pro-life policy in the State of Louisiana. He was a 
phenomenal example of pro-life advocates for our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to make note that Dr. Al set an 
amazing example for our State, an amazing example on the sanctity of 
life and respecting life. But it is important that, as we move forward, 
we also respect life after birth. We respect life in terms of some of 
the initiatives that we are going to be working on this year: criminal 
justice reform and the War on Poverty.
  I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in this Special 
Order tonight. I want to thank you for organizing this. I want to 
remind folks, over a million lives a year lost as a result of this 
decision.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for his 
very eloquent comments.

[[Page H157]]

  I would like to now yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Shuster), the chair of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and also 
thank him for setting up this Special Order tonight and his leadership 
in his years in Congress and the pro-life movement.
  Life is the most precious gift we are given. The youngest and most 
vulnerable among us are a blessing. We must never stop working to 
protect them.
  Unfortunately, 2015 brought renewed attacks on life, and horrific new 
events came to light that showed us just how important this fight is. 
Videos were released exposing Planned Parenthood's barbaric practices. 
The things we saw being discussed and done in these videos were 
appalling. They underscore why we must continue to do everything we can 
to uphold the sanctity of life.
  I am proud that today we are sending down to the President a piece of 
legislation that will defund Planned Parenthood. I am proud of the work 
this House has done to bring attention to this issue and advance the 
cause of life.
  I have been honored to count myself among those who are in this 
fight, but we can never rest on our work to protect the unborn. 
Together, we must work to ensure that the terrible practices of Planned 
Parenthood come to an end and that life is valued, cherished, and 
always protected.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Chairman Shuster for those excellent 
comments.
  I now yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice).
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. I want to thank my friend and colleague 
for his great leadership in this cause of life.
  Mr. Speaker, I join with my others here with deep concern as we are 
now at 43 years since the Supreme Court determined, unimaginably, that 
there exists in our country some broad right for the abortion of a 
child in the womb.
  That decision literally came after 21 States had already enacted laws 
limiting abortion for over 100 years. In fact, the first of these laws 
was adopted in Connecticut in 1847, 21 years before the ratification of 
the 14th Amendment, which is the very amendment on which Roe v. Wade is 
based. In his dissent, Justice Rehnquist noted that, due to this 
history, the High Court was forced to create a right that was unknown 
to the Framers of the 14th Amendment.

                              {time}  1800

  Mr. Speaker, it is time that we correct this wrong-headed decision 
made by the court 43 years ago. It is for this reason that I personally 
introduced the Sanctity of Human Life bill, H.R. 426, which defines 
life beginning at conception.
  I would certainly ask my colleagues to join in cosponsoring this bill 
so that 43 years from now we are celebrating the right to life rather 
than another 57 million unborn Americans lost to abortion.
  I thank the gentleman for his stance on this.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for his leadership and 
for his bill.
  I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), the co-chair 
of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. I thank him for his leadership 
and for standing up so courageously for life.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. I thank Representative Smith for all of his work and 
leadership on the issues of life and protecting people at all stages of 
life.
  As the Democratic co-chair of the Pro-Life Caucus, I stand here as a 
Democrat who believes that we need to have laws in our Nation to 
protect the vulnerable, those who can't protect themselves. No one is 
more vulnerable in America today than a child in the mother's womb. No 
one is in more need of protection. We must continue to fight to provide 
that protection.
  We do have our young men and women who are our new pro-life 
generation. They understand the dangers that they faced to their own 
lives when they were in their mother's womb.
  I look forward to continuing to work with all of them and with my 
colleagues here in the House to bring us to the day where all life in 
our Nation is protected by our laws, from conception to death. Only 
then will our Nation truly stand up for life and all that our Nation 
was founded upon.
  I thank all my colleagues for their work on this issue.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Lipinski for those very fine 
comments.
  I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).
  Mr. WALBERG. I thank Congressman Smith and Congressman Lipinski for 
their leadership in the Pro-Life Caucus. I thank Congressman Smith for 
his active involvement in promoting life not only here in America, but 
all over the world.
  Someone once said: Tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth. 
That statement, sadly, is often true, but the lie is still a lie. Roe 
v. Wade was such a lie. It didn't offer freedom. It didn't offer 
opportunity or choice. It offered death and a diminished life, to boot.
  I will never forget the conversation with my wife over 40 years now 
in the hospital recovery room when she had just given birth to our 
first child. She said to me in that recovery room, with tears in her 
eyes: ``Wow, I have just added a life to the world.
  That is why pro-life and pro-women go hand in hand. She is the only 
being designed and capable to bring new life into the world. It is a 
God-given gift. We honor and celebrate that gift. We who are pro-life 
honor her for that.
  Let's give all that we can to honor and encourage our citizens to 
know the truth of the Psalmist who said: ``Behold, children are a gift 
of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.'' And that is the 
truth.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Walberg for his very excellent 
remarks, but also for that very personal story. That is very, very 
touching.
  I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).
  Mr. LATTA. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Again, I want to add my admiration to Mr. Smith for all his years of 
hard work for the pro-life movement here in this country and around the 
world and for holding this Special Order tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the right to life for every 
unborn child. During my tenure in the Ohio General Assembly and now as 
a Member of Congress, I have consistently supported pro-life 
legislation and I have been unwavering in my belief that we must be 
vigilant in protecting the sanctity of human life.
  Over the past year, we have seen an unprecedented and callous 
disregard for life through the series of undercover videos that 
illustrate Planned Parenthood's involvement in the sale of fetal 
tissue. That is why I have supported legislative measures to end such 
unspeakable acts and to prevent any Federal funds going to any entity 
that performs abortions.
  At a time when pro-life values are often marginalized, I want to 
reassure my constituents that I will remain steadfast in my support for 
legislation that defends the sanctity of life and that I will continue 
to stand for those without a voice.
  I also want to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to those who 
work tirelessly day after day, year after year, to defend the right of 
life, and to the hundreds of thousands who will be here for the Right 
to Life March this month. I applaud them and thank them.
  Again, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for all of his years of 
hard work.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for his leadership on 
this most important human rights issue of our time.
  I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer).
  Mr. ROUZER. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to thank 
him for his leadership on this very important issue.
  As we near the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court 
decision, there is a sad truth to be told: More than 57 million 
innocent lives have been terminated through abortion since that 
landmark ruling.
  To put that in perspective, that is more than five times the 
population of my home State of North Carolina. Again, that is more than 
five times the population of North Carolina. That is a sobering number.
  In God's word, it is written that life begins at conception. Recent 
advances in science support that fact. It is our moral obligation to 
fight for and protect the lives of those who cannot

[[Page H158]]

speak for themselves, the lives of those who are no different than our 
own.
  As millions of Americans prepare to travel here to Washington, D.C., 
to participate in the annual March for Life, my prayers are with them. 
I am proud to stand with them in their commitment and dedication to the 
pro-life cause.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for his comments.
  I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), a very strong 
and outspoken supporter of the right to life.
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I, too, would like to add my thanks for the passion and the 
commitment he has made to the right-to-life movement and the protection 
of the unborn--both he and his wife--not just here in the United 
States, but around the world. I have seen that happen.
  But we are here tonight. It is hard to stand in America's House and 
think that we have to debate an issue that is so basic to who we are 
not as Republicans or Democrats, but as human beings.
  In the district that I represent, the biggest county is Erie County. 
In Erie County, there are 278,443 people, human beings. In 2014, 
abortions performed by Planned Parenthood ended the potential lives of 
324,000 human beings.
  It is stunning here in America's House and in the United States of 
America, where we recoil at any action around the world where there is 
loss of life, especially when it happens violently and at the hands of 
people who have absolutely no regard for human life. We still shudder 
that Adolph Hitler was able to eliminate 7 million Jews.
  We have ended the lives of 57 million Americans that could be here 
today. We lost their lives. We lost their potential. We lost their 
value. The hypocrisy that drips from the people's House--America's 
House--when we have to stand and debate the right to life, the right of 
the unborn, and think that somehow this is an argument that we must 
win. This is something that never ever should have happened, not in 
America, not on our watch, not in our time.
  On January 22, hundreds of thousands of pro-life Americans will come 
to the Nation's capital. They will be little noted by the media, but 
they will be here. They come every year. They come here every year with 
one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to protect the lives of 
the unborn.
  When, America, will we stand up and take the responsibility for the 
heinous activity that we have allowed to happen on our watch?
  I thank my colleagues and I thank the gentleman for his passion and 
dedication to the lives of the unborn. We will never ever walk away 
from this responsibility to right a horrible wrong in the chapter of 
human history.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Kelly for his very strong 
statement.
  More people now recognize, especially through ultrasound, that birth 
is an event, not the beginning of life. Increasingly, because the 
methods of abortion are so horrific--literal dismemberment of the baby, 
chemical poisoning--people are waking up. Abortion is violence against 
children and injurious to women.
  Again, I thank the gentleman for his commitment to life.
  I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).
  Mr. ROTHFUS. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, this year's March for Life marks the 43rd anniversary of 
Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that invented a constitutional 
right to abortion on demand. Justice Byron White dissented in the case, 
calling what the majority had done an ``exercise in raw judicial 
power.''
  The March for Life draws thousands of people from across the Nation 
every year. The marchers come by foot, by car, by train, by plane.
  Why, Mr. Speaker, does this issue refuse to go away? I suggest 
because it goes to the heart of who we are and whether we will live up 
to the principles of our Nation's founding documents.
  Mr. Speaker, this issue touches the conscience of everyone. It can be 
difficult to discuss and it is painful to be reminded of it.
  Everyone in this Chamber, everyone listening to this talk, was at one 
point in his or her life an unborn child. The March for Life speaks to 
this truth and speaks to the obligation of society to defend the 
defenseless. May this Nation rediscover the value of everyone, and may 
we continue to work for the day when all are protected.
  Mr. Speaker, if I might take a moment to recognize the work of my 
colleague, Mr. Smith, who came to this House in 1980--35 years ago--and 
from that day has been fighting this fight.
  I am reminded, Mr. Speaker, of another statesman two centuries ago, 
William Wilberforce, who served in the Parliament of Britain. He was 
first elected there in 1780 and came to the cause to fight for the 
abolition of slavery in 1787, when he took on the cause with his 
colleagues of conscience.
  It took them 20 years, Mr. Speaker, to abolish the slave trade in the 
British Empire with the Slave Trade Act in 1807, and their work did not 
end. He continued his work for decades.
  He had to retire from Parliament in 1826, but consider that time that 
he put in to fighting the slave trade. They finally abolished slavery 
in the British Empire in 1833, and William Wilberforce learned that 
Parliament had the votes to pass that just days before his death.
  This is a fight that goes on. Sometimes justice takes time.
  In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled separate, but equal, is okay. It 
took 58 years, Mr. Speaker, for them to correct that injustice in Brown 
v. Board of Education. Fifty-eight years.
  It has been 43 years since the injustice of Roe v. Wade, but this 
fight will continue. We will continue to work for the protection of all 
human life, for justice will not sleep forever.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Rothfus very much for his 
leadership and for his very eloquent remarks.
  William Wilberforce reminds us all that, through prayer, fasting, 
tenacity, and the pursuit of justice, he really was able to stop the 
slave trade.
  Thankfully, in this Congress, we have so many leaders--men and women 
on the pro-life side--who stand up boldly and effectively, and we will 
win this.
  I thank the gentleman for his leadership.
  I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), my good friend and 
colleague.

                              {time}  1815

  Mr. OLSON. I thank my friend from the Garden State for allowing me to 
join this very important Special Order.
  Mr. Speaker, 43 years ago, an activist, liberal Supreme Court decided 
Roe v. Wade and turned a penumbra, a shadow in our Constitution, into 
the legal right to privacy, which became the right to terminate 
innocent life.
  Since then, we have seen a decline in the value of human life in 
America. There is increased violence in our streets. Planned Parenthood 
staff discuss the harvesting of baby parts. There is an erosion of 
moral fabric that stems from a lack of respect for life. It stems from 
Roe v. Wade.
  Americans expect instant gratification with no consequences for their 
own actions.
  The Catholic Church's newest saint, Mother Teresa, once said: ``It is 
a poverty to decide that a child must die so you may live as you 
wish.'' I stand with Mother Teresa and all who value the sanctity of 
life, and will fight, continue to fight every effort to give a voice to 
the voiceless before their lives are taken.
  All life is precious. All life is precious.
  I thank my friend.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you so very much, Pete, for those very 
moving remarks.
  I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Fleming), who is the 
prime sponsor of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act, along with 
Diane Black and Jeff Fortenberry.
  Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, Chris 
Smith, for all of the years of service in this area of pro-life and 
pro-family, not just domestically, but around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for everything he does, and the 
blessings that he has provided to us.
  Also, Mr. Speaker, children are a joy to every mother and father. My 
wife and I share this joy, both as parents and as grandparents.
  As a matter of fact, I have seen all three of my grandchildren 
through ultrasound, before they were born, very

[[Page H159]]

early in gestation, watched them move, watched them suck their thumbs. 
I fell in love with each and every one of them right there before they 
were born. Certainly, if I can love them before they are born, God 
loves them and knows them before they are born.
  As a matter of fact, in Jeremiah 1:5, it says that God knows us 
before we are formed in our own mother's womb.
  The value of human life, however, isn't quantified through parental 
sentimentality. Children, including developing babies, the nascent life 
within a mother, are endowed by our Creator with the same unalienable 
rights as you and I have, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 
Good public policy will reflect this understanding and protect the 
lives of the unborn, those who are today's children and tomorrow's 
leaders.
  Mr. Speaker, as we approach the anniversary of the devastating 1973 
U.S. Supreme Court decision that sanctioned the genocide--yes, the 
genocide--of 57 million children, I implore my colleagues and my fellow 
countrymen to stand for life.
  America's children, born and yet unborn, are our heritage and our 
future.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you, Dr. Fleming. Thank you for your 
leadership on so many issues, including the conscience rights issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp).
  Mr. HUELSKAMP. Thank you, Congressman Smith. It is an honor, as 
always, to join you this evening on this Special Order. I have told you 
before and I will tell you again, thank you for your leadership. I 
believe our efforts, though not fully successful, your efforts have 
saved many lives in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House voted to stop Federal funding from 
going to the evil abortion provider Planned Parenthood. It was another 
commonsense step in the many that our pro-life movement has made in our 
long, 43-year fight following the barbaric ruling of Roe v. Wade by an 
unelected, unaccountable U.S. Supreme Court.
  Tragically, it has been said 57 million innocent babies have lost 
their lives to abortion since that woeful, woeful decision.
  I have said it before and I will say it again, I am eternally 
grateful that the birth mothers of my wife and I's four adopted 
children chose life.
  On January 21, one of those children, my daughter Rebecca, will 
arrive on a bus in Washington, D.C., along with dozens of her 
classmates from Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kansas, to again 
participate in the National March for Life the following day.
  On that day, I will be joining thousand of Kansans in Topeka as we 
march, pray, speak, and celebrate the gift of our life in our State's 
capital. I am proud of our efforts, and I hope my colleagues will join 
me in demonstrating their dedication to the sanctity of all human life, 
whether it be in the home State or here in our Nation's Capital.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Young).
  Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his 
exemplary leadership on this fundamental issue.
  I rise today on the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade to remember the 
more than 50 million unborn lives we have lost in the decades since 
this Supreme Court decision was handed down.
  As a father of four young children, I can speak for millions of 
parents I know when I say that Jenny and I, we really fell in love with 
our children before they were born. It is this unwavering love for my 
own children and for others' children that led me to the pro-life 
movement.
  Each year, thousands of fellow Hoosiers travel to our Nation's 
Capital to peacefully march for life and to celebrate the sanctity of 
life at all stages.
  My experience working at the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Bloomington, 
Indiana, provided, I think, unique insight into some of the steps we 
can take to bring our love to bear, so that we might bring about 
changes in the law and restore, in this country, a culture of life.
  This year, we work with renewed purpose, with the force of public 
opinion firmly behind us. We know what happened last year. It will be 
hard to ever forget. We witnessed an outpouring of rage when Planned 
Parenthood's activities were uncovered. For the first time, millions 
had to confront, in living color, the callous disregard for human life 
exhibited by Planned Parenthood's employees and its procedures, 
unimaginable procedures, procedures that shocked the public conscience.
  I heard from folks back home, countless Hoosiers, and they responded 
with complete clarity. No one, they said, should be forced to violate 
their conscience so abortion providers like Planned Parenthood can 
continue to operate. That just won't stand.
  It is why our first order of business this year was to cut off 
taxpayer funding that involves every single American taxpayer and the 
practices of the Nation's largest abortion provider. As promised, we 
sent the President a bill defunding Planned Parenthood.
  Now, to the Hoosiers who join me this year in marching for life, know 
that we will remain vigilant in our efforts to protect innocent life 
and the rights of conscience of the American people.

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you so much, Mr. Young, and thank you, 
as a new and very rising star leader in our efforts to defend life. 
Your eloquence is greatly appreciated.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Farenthold).
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to honor the memory of 
the millions of babies that have been killed by abortion in the 43 
years since the Supreme Court's poorly reasoned, and I wrote down here 
appalling, but I heard one of my colleagues use the word barbaric, and 
I think that is the right word, barbaric ruling in Roe v. Wade.
  There are those who argue that life begins at birth. They are wrong. 
Life begins at conception. Anyone who has seen a precious baby in the 
womb on a sonogram cannot help but agree with me on this.
  One of the most moving events of my life was when I went with my wife 
and saw the first sonogram picture of my first daughter, Morgan. I 
still have the videotape of that. A printout is in my memory box in 
Corpus Christi. It was one of the most moving experiences.
  You know, I know lots of Members of Congress, a lot of them are here 
today, and they feel the same way as I do, that human life is something 
special, something sacred, and it begins at conception.
  But, unfortunately, there are not enough of us to override a 
Presidential veto of the legislation like we passed in this House 
defunding Planned Parenthood. There are not enough of us to get a 
constitutional amendment to the States saying that life begins at 
conception.
  But we have got to continue to fight. It is our duty, it is our moral 
duty, to defend the unborn.
  It has been 43 years since Roe v. Wade. It is my prayer it is not 
another 43 years before America comes to its senses and respect for 
life, all life, becomes the law of the land again.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman from Texas for, again, 
a very eloquent statement, and my hope is that people are listening.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores).
  Mr. FLORES. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, not only for 
yielding, but also for the many decades you have spent of trying to 
protect the lives of our Nation's and, indeed, the world's most 
vulnerable.
  Mr. Speaker, soon we will mark the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a 
decision that has irreparably damaged our Nation for generations and 
will continue to do so until it is reversed.
  Since the Supreme Court decision, as you have heard earlier, America 
has lost 57 million defenseless and innocent lives, while millions more 
have been deeply hurt.
  Fortunately, the movement to protect and defend life has made 
meaningful progress in the last year. The U.S. House of Representatives 
recently passed protections for unborn children, after 20 weeks, which 
is something the majority of Americans support.
  Yesterday, the House passed landmark pro-life legislation that paves 
the way to transfer Federal funds from those who would kill children, 
unborn children, to thousands of community healthcare centers that 
provide true comprehensive health care for women.

[[Page H160]]

Later this month, thousands from across the country will stand in front 
of this building to support life in our Nation's largest peaceful 
protest.
  We will continue to work and pray with hope and resilience, to give a 
voice to the voiceless, to advocate for those who cannot advocate for 
themselves, and to protect our Nation's most vulnerable.
  As I close, I would ask all Americans to continue to pray for our 
country, and for our unborn children, and for those who reach out and 
try to protect those unborn children.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have 
remaining?
  And I want to thank Mr. Flores again for another very moving speech 
on behalf of the most basic human right, the right to life.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 24 minutes remaining.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. LaMalfa), my friend and colleague.
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Smith, thank you for yielding, and also thank you 
for your amazing leadership on year after year putting this in front of 
the people and highlighting--or lowlighting--just what this has been.
  It is probably very mind-boggling for many Americans to contemplate 
that this has been going on for 43 years, since the Supreme Court 
ruling, out of whole cloth, Roe v. Wade. And it must be very mind-
boggling when we remind Americans that at this time over 57 million 
abortions have been performed since that.
  We know that over 7 million have been performed by Planned 
Parenthood--7 million--making them the largest abortion provider in the 
country.

                              {time}  1830

  Yet you will hear Planned Parenthood argue that it is a tiny part of 
what they provide as far as what they might deem to be women's health 
services. If it is such a minor part of what they do, then maybe they 
ought not be demanding and asking for government funding. Indeed, that 
was taken care of this week in the measure that was sent to the 
President's desk. We will see what the President decides to do with 
that.
  With Planned Parenthood providing 323,000 abortions just in 2014 and 
receiving $550 million in taxpayer funding, we see that this is a wrong 
that is mind-boggling to most Americans as well.
  With the sending of that bill to the President, it is going to make a 
strong statement that this House and this Senate can take action on 
something that many people, when they pay attention, find to be quite 
abhorrent. Instead, there are alternatives out there that this 
legislation has provided that will allow women's health to be funded 
and taken care of at many other centers. Even Planned Parenthood can 
participate if they choose at some point to not be an abortion 
provider.
  The key here is that women's health will be served and that with the 
information and with the decisions they made being fully informed on 
that, we can see many less abortions happen in this country as well as 
the moral fiber and integrity of this country held up by not doing such 
an abhorrent thing in so many cases.
  So I commend Mr. Smith and all those fellow warriors out there who 
will be marching for life not only coming up soon this year, but they 
are out there every year battling for the cause to turn America back 
around into a place that is a little more moral and actually does care 
about women, their health, and their mental well-being when this 
decision has been put upon them.
  So, to my colleague, thank you once again for allowing me here 
tonight with this because it is very important that we remember just 
how heinous this is and how people need to be informed about that, 
pause, and take time to see what this really means for America and our 
own well-being. Thank you.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Doug, thank you very much for your excellent 
remarks reminding us that Planned Parenthood alone is directly 
responsible for killing 7 million unborn babies. That is a staggering 
loss of lives killed by one organization. So thank you for your 
leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin, Sean Duffy.
  Sean offered legislation late last year that would have protected 
States that decided to defund Planned Parenthood. It passed 
overwhelmingly, and I want to thank him for his leadership as well.
  Mr. DUFFY. I appreciate the gentleman from New Jersey yielding. I am 
grateful for his powerful advocacy for the unborn in his whole tenure 
here in Congress. You have been a true leader and an inspiration for 
some of us who have come after you.
  I have been in this institution for 5 years. Over the course of that 
5 years, I have heard many of my liberal friends and a lot of friends 
from the Congressional Black Caucus talk about how there is targeting 
and unfair treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice 
system. I have heard them.
  In Financial Services, I hear them talk about how big financial 
corporations target African Americans and minorities. As I turn on my 
TV, I listen to Black Lives Matter talk about how police and law 
enforcement are targeting African Americans and minority communities.
  I hear a lot in this institution from minority leaders about how 
their communities are targeted. But what I don't hear them talk about 
is how their communities are targeted in abortion.
  Here are some stunning facts. The African American community is 15 
percent of the country as a whole but accounts for 40 percent of the 
abortions. Fifteen percent of Americans, 40 percent of the abortions. 
In New York City, the most recent statistic is that African American 
women had more abortions than live births.
  There is a targeting going on in a lot of spaces and a lot of places, 
and it is going on in the abortion industry. And my liberal friends, 
Congressional Black Caucus Members, talk about fighting for the 
defenseless, the hopeless, and the downtrodden. There is no one more 
hopeless and voiceless than an unborn baby, but their silence is 
deafening. I can't hear them. Where are they standing up for their 
communities, advocating and fighting for their right to life?
  Black lives matter. They do. Indian, Asian, Hispanic, and White, all 
those lives matter. We should fight for all life, including the life of 
the unborn.
  We have talked about this a lot of times. In 2 weeks, there is going 
to be an amazing march that takes place right here at the Capitol, and 
you are going to see tens of thousands of people come out and support 
life. You are not going to see the national media cover this. They are 
going to ignore tens of thousands of people.
  Just think how powerful that rally is going to be when you have 
Reverend Al Sharpton standing on the stage talking about how he is 
going to fight for his community and his unborn babies and all the 
Congressional Black Caucus standing behind him saying: Do you know 
what? We are going to fight for these defenseless and voiceless little 
babies in our community that are being targeted.
  And just think if our President who sheds a tear for violence goes to 
the West Wing and sheds a tear for the unborn. I can only hope and 
pray.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Martin Luther King's niece Alveda King has 
had two abortions. She made one of the most passionate comments and 
speeches I have ever heard when she said: How can my uncle's dream 
survive if we murder the children? She is now pro-life. She says: The 
other co-victim in every abortion besides the baby is the mom. And she 
is a victim herself.
  I yield to the gentleman from Illinois, Peter Roskam, a great leader 
on pro-life, first in the legislature in Illinois, and now here in 
Washington.
  Mr. ROSKAM. Thank you, Mr. Smith, for your leadership.
  I just want to paint a picture for you and take you to a scene about 
a year ago now. It was a Sunday in Chicago. I was invited to be a 
speaker at the March for Life in downtown Chicago. I got to the speech 
a little bit early and nobody was there. I was looking around, and all 
I saw was a small gaggle of pro-abortion protesters. They looked quite 
pathetic, actually. There were not very many of them. They looked 
angry. They had signs that were quite ugly. I won't repeat the phrases 
that were on the signs. It was quite a pathetic sight. I was observing 
them,

[[Page H161]]

and I was kind of waiting for the event to happen.
  Then I heard something. I started to hear music, and it was a really 
good sound. I heard the music, and the music grew, and it became more 
dynamic and louder and louder and louder and more exciting. Then 
thousands of pro-lifers came around the corner. It was a sight to 
behold. These were young people. They had balloons. They had yellow and 
white balloons. They had beautiful posters of little babies. There was 
a joy to them.
  I looked at the contrast between these two images. You have got 
young, dynamic, vibrant, and joyful--and pathetic on the other side. I 
thought to myself that if I needed any convincing--I don't--I am 
convinced by the witness of these people. I choose to be with the 
joyful people.

  So now where are we in history? We are 43 years into this. We are 43 
years into the scandal of Roe v. Wade, and yet we were told, the 
country was told, in 1973 when this decision came down, that this was 
all settled, that this was all done, and that there is nothing more to 
be done about it. It is Supreme Court doctrine, and those of you who 
are opponents, you need to get over your opposition and just move 
along, thank you.
  But there was something that was unsettling, not just about the juris 
prudence, but about the underlying moral claim upon which Roe v. Wade 
was built, and that was that it was built on a lie. The lie was that 
there is nothing significant in a mother's womb when she is pregnant. 
That, of course, is not just a lie, it is an absurdity.
  So what has happened over the past 43 years? Science is our friend. 
More people are coming to understand--even nonscientific people. They 
see the ultrasounds. You have heard testimony from people who say: That 
is a life; that is a baby; that is a person; that is a boy; that is a 
girl; and that is worthy of my defending that little child.
  So the scandal of the Planned Parenthood videos are actually a 
seminal moment, I think, in this great debate that is underway, because 
what you have noticed is there are not very many people that were 
defending the Planned Parenthood videos. Even people that purport to be 
pro-choice basically said: I didn't sign up for that.
  But yet that is exactly what abortion is. The Planned Parenthood 
videos took the mask off of the scandal of abortion and said that when 
you dehumanize, when you say something doesn't matter, then you can do 
anything you want to it. That is the scandal of the Planned Parenthood 
videos.
  So what is happening now is that there is a growing recognition among 
Americans--many of whom probably haven't thought much about this 
question for a long, long time--but now the provocative nature of those 
videos forces them to have to deal with this and reconciling their own 
understanding of science, their own deep feelings, and their humanity 
with the recognition of what is the nature of this thing that is going 
on? They say: Do you know what? I think I am leaning toward the pro-
life side.
  We clearly see this in the data. Younger voters are much more pro-
life. Why is that? They recognize the truth of the science, and they 
understand the nature of the humanity, and they understand spiritually, 
actually, what is going on.
  I was sent to Congress by a lot of pro-life people. I was sent to 
Congress by pro-life people that placed their confidence in me. I am 
here to thank them, to bear witness, and to encourage them as they go 
out for the March for Life in Chicago or the March for Life in 
Washington or the March for Life anywhere. I say thanks be to God for 
these people who have been faithful and true regardless of what the 
world has said about them. History will exonerate the pro-life 
movement.
  Mr. Smith, I thank you for your time and your faithfulness.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you very much, Peter. Those were 
outstanding comments about right to life and history as well, and we 
will prevail over time. So I want to thank you.
  I would like to now yield to the gentleman from Georgia, Austin 
Scott.
  Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Chris, I too want to thank you for your 
work on this issue. You are certainly one of the most passionate people 
I have seen on this issue in my years.
  I was thinking about what I might say, and my wife sent me a text. To 
follow up on what Mr. Roskam was saying, she asked me if I could 
FaceTime. So I stepped into the room, and I FaceTimed with my wife and 
our beautiful little 10-month-old daughter.
  In 1973, the state-of-the-art technology was the walkie-talkie. I 
can't help but believe that the Court ruling would be totally different 
if a 3-D ultrasound picture like I got to see of my baby when she was 
20 weeks old were put on the screen and a judge got the opportunity to 
say, ``What do you call that?''
  Five fingers, five toes, eyes, ears, lips, nose--you can see them. 
You can see the hair. The technology is continuing to prove what many 
of us in this country have known all along, and that is that life 
begins at conception and that God has given value to each and every 
single life.
  I just want to take 1 more minute to say thank you to the men and 
women that get up every morning and that work at our pregnancy care 
centers and help encourage those young mothers and those young families 
to have the child, to love that child, and to understand that it is a 
gift from God. There is no telling how many men and women have been 
saved because of those volunteers at our pregnancy care centers 
throughout this country. So I want to say thank you to them.
  I want to say thank you to the people at the National Right to Life 
and, in my State, Georgia Right to Life and Georgia Life Alliance for 
the work that they have done to continue to educate people on that.
  I want you to know this fight continues. This is a stain on our 
country. It is a sin that God is not going to allow us to get away 
with. We as a nation need to accept that life begins at conception, and 
we as Congress have a responsibility to do everything that we can to 
protect it.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you so much for those comments. I 
couldn't agree more that the megatrend in society is to embrace the 
unborn. It is the ultrasound technology--the window to the womb--that 
has made the difference. So thank you for your outstanding comments.
  I would like to now yield to the gentleman from Ohio, Steve Chabot, 
the prime sponsor of the partial-birth abortion ban. It is one of the 
most hideous methods of abortion and has awakened many Americans to the 
violence that is inherent in every abortion. Steve Chabot is the man 
who wrote that law.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for his 
leadership. Chris Smith has been in a leadership position on this issue 
since before Henry Hyde. He took up the mantle for Henry. So thank you 
for doing that, Chris. We appreciate that greatly.

                              {time}  1845

  I have got a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. It happens to 
be on January 22, which is the day that that horrific decision--the Roe 
v. Wade decision--was issued by the United States Supreme Court.
  On my birthday now, I can't help but think about all those who are 
not among us because their mother made a different decision than my mom 
made almost 63 years ago. Because of that decision, those little 
innocent unborn children aren't with us.
  My district is Cincinnati. We have had some of the original founding 
leaders of the pro-life movement there, especially Dr. Jack and Barb 
Willke, who passed away within the last couple of years. But they were 
the leaders. The torch has been taken up by people like Paula Westwood, 
who now heads up Cincinnati's Right to Life.
  As Mr. Smith mentioned, we have made some progress. I was honored to 
have been able to play a role in passing the ban on partial birth 
abortion, which is now the law of the land, as well as the Born-Alive 
Infants Protection Act.
  When we consider the reprehensible practices of organizations like 
Planned Parenthood and what goes on there in their facilities all 
across America, it shows that we have a long way to go. As discouraging 
as it can get sometimes, we must never give up, never give up in our 
fight to protect the most innocent among us, the unborn.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you very much, Chairman Chabot.
  Chairman Chabot also is the full committee chairman of the Small

[[Page H162]]

Business Committee and has done yeoman's work on behalf of the unborn 
since he has been here, which is for a very long time.
  I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).
  Mr. GOHMERT. I thank my friend, Mr. Smith, for all his work on this 
issue.
  When I was a young boy unable to read and my mother would read 
stories from the Bible, it was so enlightening. As I began to read in 
elementary school and read the Bible for myself, I was always so 
perplexed to read that there were generations thousands of years ago 
that devolved and degenerated to the point that they would sacrifice 
their own children on the alter to avail other idols.
  It appeared clear that there is not much that is more despicable to 
God, and it makes sense for anyone who believes there could be a God 
that there could be nothing more despicable than the taking of innocent 
life.
  That is what you find in the Bible. It may have been allowed to go on 
for generations for years. But when the wrath came, it was judgment 
that was truly ungodly.
  Since 1973, the realization that here in America we have been 
sacrificing the most innocent--before they could even be capable of 
saying a lie, stealing, any wrong whatsoever, their lives are taken 
away from them.
  And then to further realize that you have some legislators that have 
fought to prevent children that were attempted to be aborted, that were 
born alive--they fought to let them die even after they are born alive. 
Then you realize one such legislator now has been voted into the White 
House. It is a bit scary, where we are in America.
  I know there are some that say: You are a man. You can't complain 
about the sacrifice of unborn children on the alter of inconvenience.
  I am not a slave, never have been, but I would hope that, if I were 
alive 200 years ago, I would have stood with John Quincy Adams, I would 
have stood with the abolitionists, to say: How can we expect God to 
keep blessing America when we are treating our brothers and sisters 
with chains and bondage?
  Well, I am alive today. We need to stop the sacrifice of the most 
innocent and the most helpless among us. Our judgment will be coming 
one way or another.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my friend for his eloquent remarks.
  I just want to conclude, Mr. Speaker.
  Some day 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 most innocent and the most 
inconvenient.
  History will not look favorably on today's abortion culture. I do 
believe we must replace it and work tirelessly to replace it with a 
culture of life.
  Modern medicine and scientific breakthroughs, especially the 
widespread use of ultrasound, has shattered the pernicious myth that 
unborn children are mere blobs of tissue and that abortion is anything 
but an act of violence.
  A few years ago I met with Linda Shrewsbury, an academic and African 
American with a degree from Harvard, who spoke and said:
  ``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.''
  ``At age 20, I had no inkling of the mental and emotional darkness I 
was about to enter.''
  ``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.''
  We believe that there are two victims in every abortion: the unborn 
baby and the mother. Linda Shrewsbury found peace. We need to protect 
women from the violence of abortion, as well as babies.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________