[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8438-S8439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

  Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Madam President, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to 
hear the most anticipated abortion case in nearly 30 years when it 
considers Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in oral argument 
on December 1, 2021. This development allows us to consider the many 
people whose dedication to the pro-life cause has led us to this point. 
One of those people is former President Donald J. Trump. The pro-life 
movement would not be where it is today absent his advocacy for pro-
life policies and for conservative judges.
  In January 2016, Presidential candidate Trump said, ``America, when 
it is at its best, follows a set of rules that have worked since our 
Founding. One of those rules is that we, as Americans, revere life and 
have done so since our Founders made it the first, and most important, 
of our `unalienable' rights.''
  He continued, ``Over time, our culture of life in this country has 
started sliding toward a culture of death. Perhaps the most significant 
piece of evidence to support this assertion is that since Roe v. Wade 
was decided by the Supreme Count 43 years ago, over 50 million 
Americans never had the chance to enjoy the opportunities offered by 
this country. They never had the chance to become doctors, musicians, 
farmers, teachers, husbands, fathers, sons or daughters. They never had 
the chance to enrich the culture of this nation or to bring their 
skills, lives, loves or passions into the fabric of this country. They 
are missing, and they are missed.''

[[Page S8439]]

  These words helped guide President Trump's actions in office as he 
advocated for pro-life policies both domestically and abroad. 
Domestically, President Trump fought to defund Planned Parenthood and 
other abortion providers from receiving Federal funding. He prohibited 
such entities from receiving title X funding and permitted States to 
prohibit them from participating in Medicaid as well. In 2018, 
President Trump issued a rule requiring health insurers to specify 
whether plans cover abortion. He also issued rules to protect religious 
objectors and moral objectors from the Department of Health and Human 
Services contraceptive mandate. In addition, the President established 
a new Conscience and Religious Freedom division of the Office for Civil 
Rights to protect healthcare providers who object to participating in 
abortions.
  President Trump's commitment to the unborn was just as strong abroad. 
Just days after his inauguration, President Trump ended Federal funding 
of abortion overseas by reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which 
prohibits nongovernment organizations receiving U.S. aid grants from 
performing and promoting abortions overseas. He directed the Secretary 
of State to implement the ban on taxpayer funds for overseas abortions 
across most U.S. global health programs through his Protecting Life in 
Global Health Assistance policy.
  In addition, President Trump also defunded the United Nations 
Population Fund, a program long tied to China's forced abortion one-
child policy. To further underline this, the Trump administration in 
2020 declared to the United Nations that abortion is not a human right 
and signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration, where 33 nations joined 
together to reaffirm the value of unborn life. Finally, in January 
2021, the Trump administration and called for the Chinese Communist 
Party to immediately end its system of forced abortions.
  In addition to his work within the executive branch, President Trump 
also showed his commitment to the pro-life cause by nominating 
constitutional conservative and originalist judges to the Federal 
judiciary. He nominated three originalist Justices to the U.S. Supreme 
Court: Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, 
and Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020. More broadly, President Trump 
nominated 234 new article III judges who share this commitment to 
upholding our Constitution as written.
  As the pro-life movement advances, it is important for us to 
recognize how we got here. Former President Trump deserves praise for 
all his administration did over the past 4 years to advance the cause 
of the unborn. I am gratitude for that work and recognize the tireless 
advocacy of the Trump administration to protect both women and their 
babies.

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