[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H669-H675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ROE V. WADE ANNIVERSARY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from
Indiana, Jim Banks, as our first speaker tonight, a former State
senator in Indiana. He served since 2010, a new Member of the House. He
served as chairman of the senate Veterans Affairs and The Military
Committee with great distinction, and now he has actually joined the
Veterans' Affairs Committee as well as other committees here in the
House.
Mr. BANKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the innocent
lives lost as a result of Roe v. Wade.
It has now been 44 years since the Supreme Court made this
unconstitutional ruling, and over that period of time, more than 58
million--I repeat, over 58 million--children have had their God-given
right to life denied. Every single one of these lives was important and
unique, and we grieve this loss.
At the same time, we celebrate the fact that, increasingly, our
culture recognizes the value of human life. A poll released last year
found that a majority of young Americans support increasing
restrictions that protect the unborn. Another recent poll found that 61
percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions in the
United States.
I agree with them, and that is why I support the No Taxpayer Funding
for Abortion Act that we voted on earlier today. I am pleased that it
passed the House, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to quickly
consider this important bill.
But we must not stop there. We must work to ensure that taxpayer
dollars do not continue to support the abortion industry, including
Planned Parenthood, our Nation's largest abortion provider.
Additionally, we must encourage the new administration to nominate a
Justice to the Supreme Court who follows the Constitution and respects
the most basic and fundamental right of every human being born and
unborn: the right to life.
As a father of three young daughters, these issues are personal for
me. During my time in Congress, I will stand up for those who cannot
stand up for themselves. I will protect and defend human life and
advance these deep- and long-held values upon which our Nation was
founded.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend for his remarks.
I now yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Foxx), the chairwoman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, who
has been outspoken for years on behalf of the innocent and inconvenient
unborn children.
Ms. FOXX. I thank my colleague from New Jersey for his unflagging
leadership on the issue of pro-life as well as on other issues related
to human rights.
Mr. Speaker, since 1973, as my colleague before me said, at least 58
million children's lives have been tragically taken by abortion in the
United States. Over these last 44 years, science has made the facts
increasingly clear: the unborn child in his or her mother's womb is a
member of the human family, fully alive and simply awaiting the right
conditions before joining the rest of us in the world.
Our laws should recognize and uphold the dignity of these unborn
children. And thankfully, we have made significant progress in this
endeavor since the decision of Roe v. Wade. The Hyde amendment has
saved over 2 million lives since 1976, and just earlier today, we
passed H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. This
bipartisan legislation makes the Hyde amendment permanent, ensuring
that unborn children are better protected and that taxpayers are not
forced to fund thousands of abortions each year.
The American people overwhelmingly agree that we should protect
innocent lives and that taxpayer dollars should not be used to finance
abortions. This Friday, hundreds of thousands of Americans will pour
into D.C. from across the country to voice their vision of a world
where every human life is valued and protected. As we mourn the lives
already lost to abortion, we should continue to strive for better legal
protections for the unborn so that one day every unborn child will be
able to join us in exercising their rights to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
Once again, thanks to Congressman Smith for this Special Order.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I want to thank the distinguished chairwoman
of the Education and the Workforce Committee for her kind remarks and
again thank her for her leadership for so many years.
I now yield to the gentleman from Arizona, Congressman Andy Biggs.
While a new Member of the House, he is a very experienced lawmaker,
having served 14 years in the Arizona Legislature.
{time} 1745
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I have a deep sense of gratitude that I
expressed to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his effort
in promulgating the bill that we passed today, H.R. 7, and allowing me
to speak tonight.
On Sunday, we recognized the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Sadly,
almost 60 million American babies have lost their lives because of this
ignominious Supreme Court decision. The tide is turning, though.
On Friday, I will have the pleasure of participating in the March for
Life rally to stand with the millions of people who are defending life
across this country.
I am immensely proud to live in Arizona, a State that prioritizes the
protection of the unborn. Since 2009, Arizona has passed 34 provisions
to restrict or regulate abortions, and Arizona's abortion rate has
concomitantly decreased 12 percent in those same 4 years. I appreciate
the efforts of pro-life advocates across my district who have worked
tirelessly to help countless women choose life for their unborn babies.
I look forward to working with President Trump and his administration
on advancing pro-life legislation like H.R. 7, which we passed out of
the House today, and ensuring pro-life candidates for all Supreme Court
vacancies and ultimately reversing that ignominious ruling, Roe v.
Wade.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Arizona for his leadership in the legislature before. As the gentleman
so aptly pointed out, the numbers of abortion come down when even
modest restrictions are passed. The law is a great teacher. We are so
happy to have the gentleman from Arizona here in
[[Page H670]]
the House, and I know I speak for many of us on the Pro-Life Caucus.
I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga).
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and thank the gentleman from
New Jersey because nobody has fought longer or harder for the cause of
life than this man. I am pleased to be up here because I know we both
believe that we represent and rise on behalf of the hundreds of
thousands of Americans who are going to come to Washington, D.C., and
march here this coming Friday because we believe that giving even one
more life, one more person, the right to change the world is worth it.
For the last 6 years, I have come to the well of the House with the
gentleman from New Jersey and my colleagues on the bipartisan Pro-Life
Caucus to celebrate life and fight for the unborn. On this seventh
occasion, I rise with a renewed sense of hope and optimism for our
children's future.
I commend President Trump for making one of his very first actions
protecting unborn children around the world by preventing U.S. taxpayer
dollars being used for foreign aid from being used to fund groups that
promote abortion under the guise of family planning.
We can't stop here, however. That is just one step. Now is the time
for action. When President Bush restored these protections in 2001, he
wrote:
``It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay
for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortion, either here or
abroad.''
We took step two earlier today when a bipartisan majority of us here
in the House voted to extend the Hyde amendment across all government
programs and to ensure that no tax dollars from hardworking Americans
are used to fund abortions here in the United States.
Let's take additional steps to fight for the ones who don't have a
voice. This Congress should protect unborn children from the violence
of late-term abortion, protect medical professionals from being coerced
to participate in abortions, and protect women from an industry that
has put its financial interests first above women's health.
Mr. Speaker, the government does not give us our rights. No. In fact,
the government exists to protect our God-given rights that were given
to us by our Creator and to protect the next generation. All you have
to do is look at those original founding documents and it is easy to
see.
Well, we are here tonight for the same reason: that hundreds of
thousands will march on Washington this Friday and fight for the rights
of that next generation. I am pleased and proud to be able to be a part
of that.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Michigan for his eloquence, for his commitment, his passion, and for
that steadfastness that will one day yield the result when the unborn
are protected in our laws against the violence of abortion. I thank the
gentleman from Michigan for participating, but most importantly for his
years of service on behalf of his constituents and the unborn.
I now yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).
Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the privilege to address
you and the privilege to address the House here, and I thank the
gentleman from New Jersey for recognizing me to say a few words here.
This week, when we go down to the Mall to March for Life, we will see
the tens of thousands of faces, many of them young people, especially
young ladies that are there to stand up and defend life.
I hear the debate here on the floor of the House of Representatives,
and I have listened to the gentleman who spoke on the Democrat side of
this aisle who lamented that there would be 18 million people pushed
off of their healthcare if we repeal the Affordable Care Act. If you
want to use the technical term, it is named the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, and it is not the right name for it.
It won't be 18 million. It won't be half of that. But to listen to
the lament that some people might go without--not health care, that is
another misnomer--health insurance for a little while, that is their
concern?
Well, we are here talking about more than 58 million little babies--
little babies that are created in God's image and formed in the womb,
as we heard Tim Walberg speak a little earlier. They are the love of
our lives. I have never known anyone who had a baby in their arms and
felt that little baby--that little baby is forming, that little baby
cooing, that special little baby smell, to witness the miracle of that
little baby, I have never known a mother or a father that said: I wish
this child had never been born. But that is what has happened to more
than 58 million little miracles.
We are here; we are a moral standard. People say you can't legislate
morality. Well, a reflection of morality is in the Federal code, and it
is in the State laws all across this land.
The question that doesn't seem to be answered generally by people on
the other side of the aisle--and I am grateful for the pro-life
Democrats that we have who have joined us year after year.
I would pose the question to those who oppose the pro-life movement:
Do you believe that human life is sacred in all of its forms? Is there
anybody over there that would deny that, that human life is sacred in
all of its forms? Not one of you. Not one of you will stand up and wave
your arm and say: let me yield to you and say why that is not true.
It is true. We know. Human life is sacred in all of its forms. Once
we understand that--now, you can stipulate that. You have by your
silence--that human life is sacred in all of its forms, there is only
one other question: Since we have to protect human life in all of its
forms then at what moment does life begin? At what moment, ladies and
gentlemen?
Well, we know that we can only identify a single moment. As much as
we know about biology--and we know plenty--one single moment is the
moment of conception. From that moment, it is a unique life with the
chromosomes matched up and the DNA that will never change for a
lifetime, that unique individual.
Did you ever think that God's creation of us--there are over 7
billion human beings on the planet. Each one of us is created in his
image, each one of us is unique. Think of 7 billion faces and no two of
them are alike. Every face on the planet is distinct and unique, and it
matches up with none of the faces that are in the grave today. And
nobody's face matches up with any of the faces that will be born in
future years or millennia.
Each face of God's creation is unique. What is the best way we can
tell each other apart? Look at the visage of our faces. It is a
uniqueness that God created within us that is part of how we interact
with each other. It is how we should love each other and appreciate
each other and draw those distinctions so that we can respect everyone
as having their own unique life.
So you have stipulated that human life is sacred in all of its forms.
So the next question I have to ask you is: Well, at what moment does
life begin? What moment, what instant does life begin?
If you can pose another instant, another moment, other than
conception, I would listen to that. But I am not seeing anybody who
wants to step down and say that there is a distinct moment that life
begins, other than conception.
So I will make this case again: human life is sacred in all of its
forms; you stipulated that. The second is that it begins at the moment
of conception. Your silence has stipulated that.
So we have the whole argument wrapped up here, packaged in this
today. We need to defend human life in all of its forms. It is God's
gift to his creation. It is our obligation to defend it, and we can
defend it. We can defend it through legislation as we did today.
We should honor and respect the life of Henry Hyde, who contributed a
great deal to this Congress in his lifetime. We are working on the
foundation that he has laid down for us, and Representative Chris Smith
has assumed much of the role that Henry Hyde played here in this
Congress. We each had the privilege to serve with Henry Hyde. His
legacy remains, and we have the unique privilege and opportunity to
build on it. I suggest we continue to do so in every piece of
legislation that we can pass.
We anticipate appointments to the Supreme Court that will honor life
and
[[Page H671]]
recognize, also, as our Founding Fathers did when they drafted the
Declaration of Independence, that we have a right to life, to liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. Don't try to package that up as three
equal values. They are not. They are prioritized rights. The right to
life supercedes the right to liberty, and the right to liberty
supersedes the right to the pursuit of happiness. No one in the pursuit
of their happiness can trample on someone's liberties. And no one can
claim they have the liberty to take the life of a baby because life is
paramount. That is the package. That is the argument that is here. We
need young people to grow up with that understanding and those values.
As we stand here tonight, Mr. Speaker, and as we work together in the
coming days and months--and I pray it is not years--one day we will see
this Nation that respects life from the moment of conception until
natural death.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from
Iowa's leadership, which has been over many decades. I want to thank
him for his eloquence and his steadfastness. The day will come when the
unborn are protected, and he will be a major part of that.
I would also concur with the gentleman from Iowa fully in how much we
miss the great Henry Hyde. He was extraordinary. He was irreplaceable.
And the fact that his amendment has saved 2 million lives, at least--
some estimates put it even higher--is a testimony to his vision, which
we now carry on with.
I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert). I again thank him
for his outspokenness on behalf of the weakest and most vulnerable.
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful that Representative Chris
Smith is a Member of the United States Congress because of his
leadership, because of his enormous heart, and his enormous caring.
It is amazing--those of us who believe in God--the way our lives
develop. I was a guy that grew up; I never liked to hug anybody. But
when we had three beautiful incredible girls added to my wife's and my
life, I became a hugger. Fox has a show named ``Outnumbered,'' but that
has been my life for years now.
I know there are so many people that say you are a man and you have
no right to speak about this. I guess, when I was a judge, there were
those who thought, since I was not a person that had been on both sides
of a civil lawsuit or had been a defendant in a case, maybe I should
not be able to say anything about or pass sentence. But we have laws,
and laws are there to protect people.
I do believe, as our Founders did, in nature's God, that we have a
Creator who provided us inalienable rights. But in this world, you have
to fight for any inheritance, including your inalienable rights.
It does appear that nature gave a greater percentage of women a
nurturing greater sense of loving and caring than most men. That gets
changed for some of us when you have a house full of girls.
{time} 1800
But I could identify with the doctor who had performed, I think he
said, over 1,000 abortions, who came before our Judiciary Committee and
testified about how it was just a procedure, how it was nothing to him,
and how he would go into the uterus.
Of course, the pregnant mom was not dilated and not going to be able
to deliver a baby that had begun forming, had a heartbeat. But that is
why he would go in with his instrument, feel around with his clamps for
something that felt long, and when he found it, he knew that it was
either a leg or an arm, and he would grab it and pull it out from the
baby's body, and continue till he did that four times, and then reach
in and find something that felt bulbous, and he would--he knew the head
could not come out in a bulbous form, and so he would crush it and pull
out the baby's head. And that was the way he went about beginning the
abortion of a child that had begun developing like that.
He never thought a thing about it until his daughter died, and then
he became nauseated, and he was never able to do another abortion like
that, and it became such a burden that he had done what he had done.
I know from my years on the bench as a judge, I know from my years as
an attorney helping people, if something is built on a lie, the chances
are that the outcome will not be good for a majority of people. I also
know that if someone encourages and perpetuates a lie within some other
person's life, they are not that person's friend.
So I would like to quickly reference an article published by WND
called ``The Real `Jane Roe' '' and just hit some of the highlights
about the real Jane Roe, the woman.
I was talking with my friend, Chris Smith, about Norma McCorvey. He
is quite familiar with her, and I believe he said he had talked to her
and had come to know her. Being the Christian that Chris Smith is, he
cares deeply about people, and that included Norma McCorvey.
But this article says: ``At the age of 21, McCorvey was pregnant with
her third child. She had given her other two children up for adoption
and McCorvey did not want to say good-bye to her offspring a third
time. So she decided to have an illegal abortion, but the Dallas clinic
she went to had been recently raided and shut down. So McCorvey made up
a story--she had been raped, she told her doctor and two lawyers. She
signed an affidavit on condition of anonymity, and the lawsuit began.''
And she told WorldNetDaily: `` `I considered abortion and, because of
this, I was put in touch with two attorneys, Sarah Weddington and Linda
Coffee. They had just recently graduated from law school and were
interested in challenging the Texas abortion statute.' ''
She says: `` `Plain and simple, I was used.' '' This is Norma
McCorvey. `` `I was a nobody to them. They only needed a pregnant woman
to use for their case, and that's it. They cared, not about me, but
only about legalizing abortion. Even after the case, I was never
respected--probably because I was not an ivy-league educated, liberal
feminist like they were.' ''
But she goes on and says--well, this was from a New York Times
interview: ``McCorvey describes her meeting the two young attorneys. .
. .
`` `Sarah Weddington sat right across the table from me at Columbo's
pizza parlor, and I didn't know then that she had had an abortion
herself. When I told her then how desperately I needed one, she could
have told me where to go for it. But she wouldn't because she needed me
to be pregnant for her case. I set Sarah Weddington up on a pedestal
like a rose petal. But when it came to my turn, well, Sarah saw these
cuts on my wrists, my swollen eyes from crying, the miserable person
sitting across from her, and she knew she had a patsy. She knew I
wouldn't go outside of the realm of her and Linda. I was too scared. It
was one of the most hideous times of my life.' ''
She says: `` `My experience with pro-abortion leaders is that they
are snobs. They claim they care about women and their rights but, in my
experience, they care for nothing, not even themselves in a way,' ''
McCorvey said.
``McCorvey said in a 1990 New York Times interview that the rape lie
caused her to be `terribly depressed.' ''
`` `I was brought up not to lie and, because of this story, I had to
lie all the time. And the depression periods got deeper and longer
until the night I cut my wrists.' ''
Well, it is one of the difficulties that attorneys have: when you
represent someone and you are sworn to do the best job you can, it
should be more than simply about getting the legal result that a lawyer
wants. It ought to be about helping the client. You can't always do
that.
But it is rather tragic that Jane Roe, Norma McCorvey, now looks back
on that as the most hideous time of her life, and that she was taken
advantage of by people that didn't care about her. They had an agenda.
I heard someone here on the floor talking about the Women's March and
how that was for all women, except the hypocrisy of that march was it
was not about all women because there were pro-life women that tried to
march. It was about women that think exactly like they do, and nobody
else gets to participate.
It is the same kind of mentality that would--when in the majority
here in this body say: We want everybody to participate in debate,
except we are
[[Page H672]]
going to have a record-setting number of closed rules so nobody can
debate. We don't want your input on ObamaCare. We don't care that you
support what we do on preexisting conditions and on kids living with
their parents.
Heck, some of us said 30 would be a better number than 26. They
didn't care. They could pass it without our votes. They didn't want our
input.
So then to hear people who treated us like that say we care about
open debate, knowing that some of those same people came down here and
grabbed microphones and, for the first time we can find in
congressional hearing, prevented the majority from starting into
session; and then they want to lecture us on openness and kindness and
open debate? Really?
Let's go back to the Norma McCorveys of the world. Let's minister to
them individually, as my church, as a number of ministries with which I
am greatly familiar do. Let's help the real person. Let's help that
child so that that little boy or that little girl doesn't have its arms
and legs jerked out of the uterus. Let's help that child have a life
that will be so full they will never think about slitting their wrists,
as Norma McCorvey did. Let's vote for life.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for his very
passionate and incisive remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa),
a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure, the Agriculture, and
the Natural Resources Committees. I thank the gentleman for his
leadership.
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith), my colleague, for his continued leadership on this very
important topic, a moral one, I think, that reflects truly an important
part of the fiber of our country.
Which way are we going to go on this? What are our values going to
be?
The gentleman has been a consistent leader way before my time during
Congress as well.
As we reflect on this week, landmark legislation again passed
tonight, H.R. 7, that would prohibit funding for abortion in this
country, on the heels of the Mexico City solution that President Trump
just signed today as well.
We are seeing that hearts are turning in this country on this issue.
And when you look at it in the categories of people across the country,
about half and half, rough numbers. Half the country might label itself
pro-life, and the other half that favors Roe v. Wade being the law of
the land, that might label themselves as pro-choice or pro-abortion.
When we get down to H.R. 7, we find that the half that is pro-life
can be joined by many additional people on the other side of that
argument that don't think it is appropriate to have government funding,
their taxpayer dollars, used for abortion as a birth control tool in a
lot of cases.
So this shows that we do have the tide going in this direction on
that, as people become more and more informed on this and understand
and don't listen to the rhetoric and don't listen to misinformation on
what this really is. This is a baby you are talking about. It doesn't
form into something else. Each pregnancy will result in a human baby.
So when we fight this battle, we find it is those that would speak on
this side of the issue come under a lot of persecution. Many, many
people will be joining together in this town later this week in the
March for Life. You will be persecuted to some extent or another. You
will be called things. But, you know, we know from the Bible that those
that speak the truth are often persecuted as well, and we all need to
be strong and firm in that.
God is watching what we do here. God will be watching later this week
and at all times on those that are marching for life. So be strong.
Also, put your arms around those folks that might be strongly
opposed, because there are a lot of people hurting on that. We
understand. People that have had to make a difficult abortion choice
and chosen to do so, they need healing as well. They need understanding
and compassion on that. If we can show them that, and if we can show
that those that are contemplating abortion, there are alternatives out
there. There are many alternatives. If we can just come alongside them
and show them that there is more than one way to do this, and there are
people willing to help and willing to counsel you in that, because that
is really what it comes down to.
When you talk about a choice, show that woman in crisis, in that
situation that she has many choices, informed choices to make; and, by
and large, maybe she will make the right one. In a lot of cases I
believe she will.
So God bless those that are going to come for this march later this
week and stand for this, put up with the level of persecution that
comes with any of these types of issues, including the one on being
pro-life.
Again, God bless you, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, for being a consistent
leader on this.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman so very much for his
kind remarks, but also his very eloquent concern for post-abortive
women and those who may be contemplating abortion. You know, the
Pregnancy Care Network, 4,000 strong throughout the United States, is
there as a front line to say: We love you both, mother and baby.
So I thank the gentleman for bringing attention to that as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B.
Hice), a member of the Oversight and Government Reform, and the Natural
Resources Committees.
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my
good friend, Chris Smith, for his leadership for so many years on this
issue of life. He is deeply loved and appreciated, and I am grateful to
be able to share this time with him as well.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure it has been said this evening already many
times over that since the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, we have lost
over 50 million lives. That is such a staggering number, but within
that number, of course, are mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, all of
them lost to abortion.
This decision of Roe v. Wade, at the crux of the matter, is one that
has the question: When does life begin?
And with that question, I was reminded of the opinion of the Supreme
Court Justice Blackmun. During that period of time when Roe v. Wade
came into law, Blackmun made the decision and wrote in his opinion. He
said: ``We, the Court, need not resolve the difficult question of when
life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of
medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any
consensus, the judiciary,'' he said, ``at this point in the development
of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the
answer.''
What a startling statement that was made. But here we are at this
time, this body, at this point of our Nation's history, we have no need
as to speculate on this question any longer. There is clear science
that, without question, tells us when life begins. And life begins at
conception. There is no question about this.
We know inside the womb is a human life. And we know with that life,
based on what we know of God and what we in our own country know from
our own Declaration of Independence, the very first inalienable right
protected is that of life.
{time} 1815
So I just believe it is time that we correct this wrongheaded
decision that was made by the Court some 44 years ago. Even just
recently, a couple of days ago, I introduced H.R. 586, the Sanctity of
Human Life Act, which makes clear that life begins at conception. I
certainly would ask my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this bill.
I just dream of the time, 44 years from now, that we could be
celebrating the right to life rather than 44 years from now looking
back and mourning over yet another 50 million American babies who have
been lost to the horrible stain of abortion. So, again, I thank you for
your leadership, and I deeply appreciate the opportunity to join you in
this Special Order.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you very much for your eloquence and
reminding us all that the Supreme Court itself said that we need not
resolve the difficult question of when human life begins; then they
went on to say that any child, at any point until birth, could be
killed by way of an abortion. They resolved it, but they
[[Page H673]]
resolved it in the negative without science, without the information.
Ultrasound certainly has shattered that myth, and I thank you for
reminding all of us about that.
I also would remind my colleagues that Jean Garton--a great leader--
ran Lutherans for Life for years. She was preparing a presentation on
abortion that included some actual pictures of aborted babies. It was
late at night, but her young child walked in while she was doing this
and said: Mommy, who broke the baby?
So even a small child could recognize--and did recognize--that
abortion destroys the life of a baby. Sadly, the Court has not been
able to. With all of their much-vaunted intelligence capacity, they
missed it by a mile. So thank you for reminding us of that.
Mr. Speaker, how much time remains.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Marshall). The gentleman has 21 minutes
remaining.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, ex-President Barack Obama, the abortion President, has
done serious harm. No human rights abuse, however, need be forever.
Today, we have an extraordinary opportunity. We have, I would submit, a
duty to protect the weakest and most vulnerable and to reassert
protections that have been sadly lacking for the last 44 years.
Protecting unborn children and their mothers is the most important
human rights cause on Earth. And this week, on Friday, thousands are
expected to march for life, to march for this fundamental human right--
the right to live.
Now, as never before, we must work, pray, and fast for that day when
every life is cherished as a gift; every life loved, despite one's
disability, race, sex, color, religion, or condition of dependency; and
every life welcomed, no matter the inconvenience. Earlier in this
Special Order, Steve King talked about caring for people at every stage
of development--every stage--including the unborn. Birth is an event
that happens to each and every one of us. It is not the beginning of
life.
Again, ultrasound imaging of the unborn child has just opened up
everyone's eyes to the little child--twins if there are two--that
resides within.
He also talked about, and I would agree with him, children with
disabilities need to be welcomed. A prenatal diagnosis of disability
should mean empathy and concern for the child, not exclusion or a death
sentence, because every life is a gift.
Mr. Speaker, it is very encouraging as to how many young people are
stepping up to protect and lead in this human rights cause.
Increasingly, the young people on college campuses, Students for Life,
and so many young people in their 20s, the millennials--and the polling
shows the millennials are pro-life--are stepping up.
Tom Brokaw often talked about the Greatest Generation. They are
stepping up as the next Greatest Generation who by their compassion,
faith, and determination will transform America into a culture of life.
All of us in the pro-life movement are especially thankful for the
growing number of courageous women who are silent no more. Some of the
groups are called the Silent No More Awareness campaign. For example,
women, all of whom have had abortions, have suffered psychological and
emotional harm, and yet they, thank God, have found reconciliation and
peace, often through faith. But now they blaze a hope-filled path for
other post-abortive women to find healing, reconciliation, and inner
peace. They admonish society not to offer the false solution of killing
an unborn child.
There are two victims in every abortion: the baby, the most obvious,
but equally the mother. Women deserve better than the false solution of
dismembering or chemically poisoning unborn children. The other side of
the issue seldom talks about the child, if ever, don't even use the
word abortion much anymore, just choice or reproductive rights, and
just refuses to accept or to acknowledge or to debate what the deed
actually does.
Children have their arms and legs torn off their bodies by the
abortionist as well as decapitation. Chemicals literally starve the
child to death. RU-486 is euphemistically called medical abortion like
the other pills that are provided. First, the child starves in the
womb, and then another chemical brings on labor.
For the pro-life movement, we all acknowledge that the way forward is
fraught with obstacles that must be overcome. The promotion of human
rights is never easy. The promotion of human rights is never obstacle
free. If past is prologue, the history of the pro-life movement,
however, shows that we will never quit.
Earlier today, the House voted on the No Taxpayer Funding for
Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, H.R. 7, to end
taxpayer complicity and funding of abortion. I especially want to thank
our very principled leadership, great people like the Speaker, Paul
Ryan; Kevin McCarthy, our majority leader; Steve Scalise, our whip; and
Cathy McMorris Rodgers; and so many others who take a principled stand
for the unborn and equally for their mothers.
No matter what The Washington Post or The New York Times might say,
they are willing to stand into the wind rather than to go along with it
because the sanctity of life--the preciousness of those children and
equally of their mothers--demands it. I want to thank them for their
extraordinary leadership. As we all know, the bill passed 238-183.
The extraordinary news is about the Hyde amendment and its
consequences. It has saved the lives of over 2 million children, and
that is a conservative estimate. There may be many more. Other funding
bans at State levels, as well as our funding bans in our Federal
policies, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, have
also saved lives because the money was not there to facilitate the
demise--the violent demise--of those children.
Even the Guttmacher Institute, the former research arm of Planned
Parenthood, acknowledges that about 25 percent of the Medicaid
abortions that otherwise would have occurred do not occur. Those
children go on to be born, and that is where the 2 million figure,
about 60,000 per year--children who evade the scalpel or the chemical
poisoning of abortion.
Forty years ago, Congress enacted the Hyde amendment. It has been
continued every year, and now it will be made permanent if this bill
were to become law. We know, as was said during the debate by my
friends on the other side of this issue, that they are determined to
eviscerate the Hyde amendment, and those 2 million children, had they
had their way over the last 40 years, would have been killed.
We also want to take abortion out of ObamaCare. The President stood
right at that podium, Mr. Speaker, in September of 2009, and said:
``Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. .
. . ''
We know that is absolutely untrue. He also signed an executive order
where he said that the Hyde amendment would be applied to the plans in
the exchanges. So we went to the Government Accountability Office and
asked for a study. It took about a year, and they came back and said
that 1,036 insurance plans across the country paid for abortion on
demand with taxpayer funding. H.R. 7, title II, would end that
complicity of the taxpayer with the procurement of abortion.
Let me also say that we hope to bring up in this House a bill that
was sponsored last Congress and is again today by Trent Franks of
Arizona, a great champion of life. It is called the Pain-Capable Unborn
Child Protection Act to legally protect most babies at 20 weeks
postfertilization. Of course, many of those kids die of dismemberment.
Again, we need a national debate on abortion because the methods have
been hidden by the facade of the abortion industry. They have been very
good at cloaking, concealing, and diminishing any focus on what happens
to the baby. Even when abortion is through ultrasound-guided abortions
and the mother is there, semi-sedated, they turn the screen away from
her so she doesn't see the dismemberment of the child, because,
obviously, as Dr. Nathanson, the founder of NARAL and an abortionist,
once said--he came to the conclusion after having killed 60,000
children and then became a pro-lifer--he said that if wombs had
windows, if everyone, including the woman, could see the child, she
would run out of that abortion mill.
So, again, I want to say thank you to Trent Franks. I know he is
here, and
[[Page H674]]
I hope that he will join us tonight. He has led on born-alive
legislation, which is also transformative.
Imagine that the former President of the United States, Barack Obama,
said that he would veto a bill that would provide a standard of care,
including a right to private action, when the child is born alive from
a later term abortion. We can't even help that child? Yet Obama, the
abortion President, said: No, we can't. Trent Franks, again, has been
the leader on that as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus)
who is a good friend and colleague, and then to close, Congressman
Trent Franks.
Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New Jersey, for more than three
decades, has raised these issues in this very Chamber, speaking for
those who are defenseless and voiceless. He speaks because he speaks
truth and is motivated by his conscience to discuss these truths.
Every year since 1973, we have had a March for Life here in
Washington. This year, we have the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It
is one of the gravest examples of judicial activism in our Nation's
history. Seven black-robed Justices decided that the lives of unborn
children are not protected under the Constitution in what Justice White
referred to as an exercise in raw judicial power. In the last 44 years,
60 million children have died in abortion.
The March for Life draws thousands of people, young and old, Democrat
and Republican, from across the Nation year after year from near and
far, on buses, on planes, in cars, on trains, in snow, in rain, in
sunshine, and overcast skies. Why? Why do they continue to come?
They come because they are motivated by the transcendent truth that
was captured in our Declaration of Independence that everyone is
endowed by a Creator with an inalienable right to life--a right that no
one can take away.
{time} 1830
Everyone in this Chamber has that right. Everybody listening to this
Special Order debate has that right. You have it today, you had it
yesterday, you had it before you were born. No one has the right to
take that right away.
The right does not depend on your ability to see, your ability to
hear, your ability to walk, your ability to talk. That right exists
because you are human. It is as simple as that. No one can take away
that right.
Those coming to the March for Life this year are coming to share that
witness, but they have also been witnessing back home the countless
acts of service they do for women in crisis pregnancies and to continue
with the help that they provide.
It is a good thing for them to come to Washington. I look forward to
welcoming my constituents from western Pennsylvania, and I encourage
them to come and stand and continue to witness until one day we
recognize the right to life for everyone in our country.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman so much for his
leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks).
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I came to this building some 30
years ago. Christopher Smith was here fighting the battle for these
little babies, as he is tonight. I hold him to be a grand hero of
humanity. Words fail me to express to him the honor, the respect, and
the affection that is due him for his relentless, faithful commitment
to these little babies that could never vote for him.
All I can say to Mr. Smith is that one day he will step over the
threshold of eternity and God will say: Welcome home, Chris. You did a
good job. You protected those who couldn't protect themselves.
I can't think of anything that I think points to a greater manhood, a
greater honor, a greater stewardship of life than protecting those who
cannot protect themselves. I just want to express that in the deepest
way possible.
Certainly, Keith Rothfus, I love him. He is a wonderful man. We have
so many here. But Chris has been here forever and he has stayed with
it. He is getting to be an old guy, but he is not quitting. I am so
honored just to be in the same room with him.
Mr. Speaker, as I often do around the 22nd of January to commemorate
and to remember the tragic Roe v. Wade decision, I come with a sunset
memorial because another legislative day has come and gone in
Washington, D.C., and sunset approaches fast. So I stand here in this
House with what I call a sunset memorial.
You see, Mr. Speaker, before the sun sets today in America, over
3,000 more unborn children will be killed by abortion on demand in the
land of the free and the home of the brave. That is more than the
number of innocent lives lost on September 11th in this country. It
happens every day.
As much hope as there is in the day in which we stand in this place,
in this new moment in American history, for these 3,000, hope will
never come in time. I mourn that, Mr. Speaker, because it wasn't
necessary.
It has now been 44 years since the tragedy called Roe v. Wade was
first handed down. Since then, the very foundation of this Nation has
been stained by the blood of almost 60 million of our own unborn
children. So many of them, Mr. Speaker, cried and screamed as they
died, but because it was amniotic fluid going over the vocal cords
instead of air, we couldn't hear them.
All of them had at least four things in common, Mr. Speaker. First,
they were just little babies who had done nothing wrong to anyone. Each
one of them died a nameless and lonely death and each one of their
mothers was wounded. Whether she realizes it or not, she will never
quite be the same.
All the gifts that these children might have brought to humanity are
now lost forever, Mr. Speaker, and that is worth mourning. Yet, even
the glare of such tragedy brings a ray of hope because this generation,
even though it still clings sometimes to a blind, invincible ignorance
while history repeats itself over and over again, there is, again, a
new beacon of hope breaking over the horizon.
Mr. Speaker, not so long ago I heard Barack Obama speak some very
noble but poignant words that, whether he realizes it or not, applies
so profoundly to this subject. So I am going to quote some excerpted
portions of his comments.
Let me just say at the outset that I agreed with the words that he
spoke. I am going to say that upfront. No one was a greater critic of
the policies of Barack Obama than myself because I thought he missed
the moment. I thought he missed his moment in history. He could have
been a great and powerful friend to the helpless, yet he chose to be
the one to oppose their chance to walk in the light of life.
He said: ``This is our first task--caring for our children. It's our
first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right.
That's how, as a society, we will be judged.''
I agree, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Obama asked: ``Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless
in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we
prepared to say that such violence that is visited on our children year
after year after year is somehow the price of freedom?''
The President also said: ``Our journey is not complete until all our
children . . .'' are ``cared for and cherished and always safe from
harm.''
``That is our generation's task,'' he said, ``to make these words,
these rights, these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of
happiness real for every American.''
Mr. Speaker, never have I so deeply agreed with any words ever spoken
by President Barack Obama as those I have just quoted. Yet, when he was
President, in the most merciless distortion of logic and reason and
humanity itself, he refused to apply his incontrovertible words to the
helpless unborn babies in this Nation.
How I wish, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Obama could have somehow opened his
heart and his ears to his own words and asked himself in the core of
his own soul why his words that should apply to all children could not
have included the most helpless and vulnerable of all children. Nine
million American unborn children died under the policies that Mr. Obama
relentlessly supported.
Now, Mr. Speaker, that moment when President Barack Obama could have
heard and responded to the silent
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cries of these little forgotten souls has passed forever. Mr. Obama
takes his place as the undisputed abortion President.
While I mourn that reality, Mr. Speaker, I take great hope in a new
reality that Donald Trump is now President of the United States and
that the winds of change are beginning to blow. I believe Mr. Trump
will be a protector of these little babies that have waited so very
long for someone to come along and help them.
So now I pray that the Members of this body and those in the United
States Senate will remember the words of Thomas Jefferson when he said:
``The care of human life and its happiness, and not its destruction, is
the chief and only object of good government.''
That phrase in the 14th Amendment that capsulizes our entire
Constitution says: ``No State shall deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property without due process of law.''
Mr. Speaker, protecting the lives of all Americans and their
constitutional rights is why we are all here.
Mr. Speaker, there is hope now. We wait for that new day that has
come to manifest and the sun to break through the clouds and shine once
again on the faces of these little babies.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
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