[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO PHIL BRYANT

 Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Madam President, I am honored to pay tribute 
to former Governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi. While there are many 
things for which the Governor deserves praise, today I specifically 
want to speak about Governor Bryant's stalwart work during his term of 
office from 2012-2020 to protect and defend the most vulnerable of our 
society: unborn children.
  While running for office, Phil Bryant promised Mississippians that he 
would work tirelessly as Governor to protect the rights of the unborn. 
He fulfilled that promise. Throughout two terms in office, Governor 
Bryant was a driving force behind legislative efforts to protect life 
in Mississippi.
  In April 2012, Governor Bryant signed Mississippi House Bill 1390. 
This bill required abortion practitioners to be certified as 
obstetrician-gynecologists and to maintain admitting privileges at a 
local hospital. Through these requirements, this legislation sought to 
strengthen abortion regulations and ensure that women receive quality 
care for any complications following an abortion.
  In April 2014, Governor Bryant signed Mississippi House Bill 1400, 
banning abortions performed after 20 weeks. This legislation cited a 
plethora of medical evidence, showing that a baby can feel pain at this 
stage, and that pregnant women are at increased health risks, even 
death, when undergoing later-term abortion procedures.
  Additionally, Governor Bryant signed into law the Unborn Child 
Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act in 2016, banning 
dismemberment abortions or those involving the practice known as D&E or 
``dilation and evacuation.'' Dismemberment is the most prevalent method 
of second trimester abortion, accounting for 96 percent of all second 
trimester abortions. With the enactment of this law, Governor Bryant 
not only banned these violent dismemberment procedures from taking 
place in the Mississippi, he also prohibited the illegal trafficking of 
the bodies of aborted babies in Mississippi.
  Governor Bryant did not stop there and continued working to keep his 
promise to make Mississippi ``the safest place in America'' for unborn 
babies. In 2018, he signed the Gestational Age Act, which banned 
abortions after 15 weeks in most cases. It is this law being challenged 
at the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health.
  Throughout all of these laws, Governor Bryant maintained steadfast 
courage and held tightly to his promise to the people of Mississippi to 
fight continuously to protect the unborn. I love what he once said when 
groups threatened legal action against our State's pro-life 
legislation. He said, ``We will all answer to the good Lord one day. I 
will say in this instance, `I fought for the lives of innocent babies, 
even under threat of legal action.' ''
  That is indeed true. When his time comes, Governor Bryant can stand 
tall before the Lord, having fought the good fight to protect the 
unborn. And indeed, when the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the 
Dobbs case on December 1, Governor Bryant can smile in the knowledge 
that his work was not in vain.
  For all these reasons, I call attention to Governor Phil Bryant. He 
deserves laudable recognition for his 8-year fight to protect and 
defend the right to life for the unborn babies in the womb, reflecting 
the character and values of the people of our State, 
Mississippi.

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