[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 3, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3065-H3066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              {time}  2015
                       NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Abraham) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize April as National 
Donate Life Month and the awareness one Louisiana family has brought to 
organ donation through the tragic loss of their son.
  On May 5, 2015, the Perry family, from Monroe, welcomed twin babies, 
John Clarke and Ella, to the world. All was fine and well for the twins 
until John Clarke was given the fatal diagnosis of a brain bleed 
shortly after their 6-month checkup. On November 29, 2015, John Clarke 
passed away at only 6 months old.
  Before his death, his parents, Jonathan and Holley, were approached 
about donating John Clarke's organs, to which they agreed.
  Meanwhile, 400 miles away in Auburn, Alabama, the Boswell family 
faced a similarly heartbreaking situation. Their son Davis, who was 
born in June 2015, had been diagnosed with enterovirus, an infection 
that attacked his heart. His only chance at survival was an improbable 
heart transplant.
  On a Sunday night in November, Davis' parents, Amanda and Tucker, 
received a call saying that a match had been found and that Davis would 
receive a heart. On November 29, 2015, Davis underwent a successful 
heart transplant.
  A few days later, Amanda and Holley were connected by a mutual friend 
on Facebook and realized that Davis had probably received John Clarke's 
heart, a fact confirmed by the hospital.
  In April 2016, the Boswells and the Perrys met at an event raising 
awareness for organ donation. The two families have continued to meet 
over the years at the annual Auburn-LSU football game, turning the 
rivalry game into an opportunity to raise awareness and funds for organ 
donation across the country.
  While this sequence of events could have only been handcrafted by 
God, organ donations save lives across the country on a daily basis.
  In 2018, 36,528 organ transplants were performed, a record high for 
the sixth consecutive year. On average, one organ donor can save up to 
eight lives. Through organ donation, John Clarke saved two children's 
lives.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize the unspeakable tragedy that the 
Perrys faced and their incredibly brave decision to donate John 
Clarke's organs. Through this heartbreaking decision, John Clarke 
became a hero.
  Today, John Clarke is remembered by his family for his big blue eyes 
and sweet smile, a smile his parents say grew wider every time the LSU 
Tigers and New Orleans Saints were on TV.
  Like so many donors, John Clarke is no longer with us, but his legacy 
lives on in the bodies of those who received his organs. Throughout the 
month of April, I will be thinking of John Clarke, the entire Perry 
family, and all those who have given the gift of organ donation as a 
final act of compassion.


                         Honoring Mason Andrews

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Mason 
Andrews, an 18-year-old from Monroe, Louisiana, who was recently 
recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest pilot 
to circumnavigate the globe.
  Mason is a junior at Louisiana Tech University who set off on his 
trip around the world on July 22 and returned October 6 of 2018. He 
flew for 76 days in the spirit of Louisiana, a 1976 Piper Lance PA-32 
single-engine aircraft. Mason made over 20 stops around the world, 
including Dubai, Paris, and Taiwan. His longest leg of the journey was 
the 14-hour, 2,150-mile stretch from Japan to Alaska.
  Mason flew not only to break a world record, but to raise awareness 
and funds for MedCamps of Louisiana. MedCamps of Louisiana is a free 
summer camp for children with varying disabilities or illnesses, such 
as autism, spina bifida, and Down syndrome.
  Mason has served as a camp counselor for 3 years with MedCamps of 
Louisiana and raised over $30,000 for the camp during his flight. To 
raise these funds and to break the world record, Mason overcame all 
obstacles he faced, including a sandstorm over Saudi Arabia and two 
Category 5 typhoons that kept him grounded for the better part of 
September.
  I am proud of what Mason was able to accomplish and how he has 
represented the great State of Louisiana. From one pilot to another, I 
congratulate Mason on his incredible achievement and look forward to 
what he will accomplish next.


                     Born-Alive Survivor Protection

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today about something that has 
really been weighing on my mind, and that is the disturbing push for 
late-term abortions we have been seeing around the country.
  I am a doctor by trade. I have delivered many babies myself. I have 
seen babies in the womb on ultrasound wince in pain, and I have seen 
them comforted by their mother's voice. That baby is every bit as alive 
then as he or she is when a mother gets to hold her or him for the 
first time.
  I believe that life begins at conception. I believe adoption is 
always better than abortion. And I certainly believe that delivering a 
baby in the third trimester is far better for both the mother and the 
baby than a late-term abortion, which brings me back to why I wanted to 
speak tonight.
  The disturbing trend of codifying protections for late-term abortions 
must stop, and it will take Federal action to ban it across the entire 
country.
  We see what is happening at the State level:
  New York has passed a law that allows abortions at any time--at any 
time. That is outrageous, especially considering that many babies can 
live outside the womb around 20 weeks.
  Virginia tried to pass a similar law. Virginia Governor Ralph 
Northam, a Democrat, who argued that babies could be killed after birth 
if the mother had preferred to abort it rather than to birth it, said:

  ``The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept 
comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother 
and family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the 
physicians and the mother.''
  That is disgusting. That is an endorsement of a murder of a helpless 
child, and we cannot stand for that.
  I am a proud cosponsor of the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, 
which requires that babies who survive abortions be given the same 
standard of care as any person in medical need.
  This is a commonsense approach because a baby is a person. Doctors 
are sworn to help those in need, and I cannot fathom how any medical 
provider could watch a helpless baby struggling outside the womb after 
she survives an abortion.
  Even still, Democrats are standing in the way of ending this heinous 
practice. Republicans have tried nearly 30 times to bring to the floor 
a vote on the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, and Democrats have 
blocked it every single time.
  Thankfully, my colleagues,   Steve Scalise from my great State of 
Louisiana and Ann Wagner, have introduced a discharge petition to go 
around the Democratic leadership and force a vote on this important 
bill.
  I have signed the petition, and my prayer is that the Chamber can 
come together in a bipartisan way to state firmly that the United 
States of America does not believe in killing babies, especially after 
they are born.
  Critics say that it is a woman's choice and that politicians are 
interfering. If a baby is crying and he is crying out for help in an 
operating room, that is a person, an individual who is entitled to the 
same life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that every American is 
entitled to. Only the individual can decide that path forward for 
themselves; it is not the choice of anyone else; and a living, 
breathing baby deserves a chance to live.
  They say this bill is unnecessary because it is already law, pointing 
to the 2002 Born-Alive Infants Protection Act which codified into law 
that any person born alive in any stage of development is a legal 
person. Since that time, however, there have been cases where abortion 
providers do not consider a baby born if it survives an abortion.
  The Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act ends all debate and further 
protects babies who survive abortions. The Born-Alive Survivors 
Protection Act is a literal matter of life and death. It is about the 
core values of what we as

[[Page H3066]]

Americans and every single politician in State and Federal Government 
should clearly and definitely know: where we stand on this important 
bill.
  My position is clear: I stand with the babies. I stand with life.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________