[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 81 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4913-H4915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ABORTION IS NOT HEALTHCARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Kelly) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, tonight we are going to be 
taking some time to talk about life. I know today on the floor of the 
people's House we observed the one millionth death from COVID.
  When I came to work today, I saw that the flags were at half-mast, 
and I didn't know why they were at half-mast, and then I found out why. 
It was because we were observing the loss of life during the time of 
COVID-19. Loss of life is always a critical issue in the people's House 
and in the United States of America.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Keller), my good friend from the 12th Congressional District and the 
young man who I stood with today as we did take that moment to observe 
the one millionth death.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Kelly) for allowing me to speak on such an important issue. As my 
colleague mentioned, my friend, any loss of life is tragic. What is 
even more tragic is the loss of life that could have been prevented.
  I want to make sure that there is no doubt where I stand when it 
comes to defending human life, especially the life of the unborn. That 
is why every day I wear this pin on my collar that represents the size 
of a baby's feet at 10 weeks after conception, a baby that has a 
heartbeat, a baby that is alive.
  I have two children and three granddaughters, and after holding each 
one of them in my arms for the very first time after they were born, I 
know what we all know, that before they were born, they were children. 
They are human life, and they deserve the opportunity for that 
inalienable right of life.
  When two healthy individuals go to the doctor for a procedure and 
only one life comes out of that procedure, that is not healthcare. In 
fact, it is the exact opposite of healthcare.
  We hear a lot of people talking about reproductive rights, and I am 
all about people being able to exercise all of their rights, but when 
an individual exercises their reproductive rights, the baby, the child, 
deserves to be born.
  The left has said many times that overturning Roe v. Wade is radical. 
Well, from what we have heard about the decision, it simply puts it 
back into the legislatures of the States. Overturning Roe v. Wade is 
not radical. What is radical is allowing abortions up until the day of 
a baby's birth. That is radical. One thing that I want to be remembered 
for when the good Lord calls me home is the fact that during my 
lifetime, if nothing else, I will be remembered that I fought for life. 
I fought to defend those babies before they were born.
  The chart that we see over here says that there have been 327,649 
abortions so far this year. That is almost 2,500--it is 2,482 abortions 
per day in the United States of America. I call that a pandemic. And 
that is one that is preventable.
  I think we should be doing everything we can in the people's House to 
make sure all the babies in the United States of America have that 
constitutional right, that inalienable right to

[[Page H4914]]

life. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from 
Pennsylvania. I think today as we look at this, and I know it has 
become such a horrible thing to even talk about, so when we enter this 
floor, the people's floor, the people's House, and we are not willing 
to talk about an issue like this and do it civilly, but it erupts in 
some type of anger that just, quite frankly, is not understandable.
  Madam Speaker, I am sure many of the folks watching at home know the 
Supreme Court is in the midst of one of the most important cases in 
American history, but many folks might not fully understand the issue 
before the Court. So I wanted to take a moment to lay out the facts.
  In 2018, the State of Mississippi passed a law protecting life after 
15 weeks in the womb. After this law was passed, the Jackson Women's 
Health Organization, the last remaining abortion place in the State of 
Mississippi, filed suit against the State, alleging the 15-week 
protection was unconstitutional.
  The Jackson Women's Health Organization believed there is a 
constitutional right to an abortion, a right legal experts have said 
for years that doesn't really exist. But despite this, the Jackson 
Women's Health Organization has persisted in arguing their case. So 
after years of trials and multiple rounds in the Federal courts, the 
Supreme Court decided to step in and settle the question once and for 
all, which brings us to today.
  Now, the question before the Court fundamentally is whether there 
exists a constitutional right to an abortion. We believe the answer is 
clear, and Justice Alito and his colleagues appear to agree.
  The Declaration of Independence affirmed our right to life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness. Nowhere in the Constitution is there a 
right to abortion. I know there are times in our lives that it is 
inconvenient for the birth of a child, but the right to life is 
fundamental.
  One last thing I think is worth noting about this Supreme Court: The 
case was brought by the Jackson Women's Health Organization, which is 
the last abortion clinic remaining in Mississippi. The organization, 
which has devoted itself to aborting lives, unborn lives, chooses to 
call itself a women's health organization despite the fact that more 
than half of all the lives they end each day are female. Little boys 
and little girls are aborted each day within those walls, yet 
abortionists who work there continue to fight for their right to abort.
  That is a point we must never forget. Abortion is not healthcare. It 
is the only medical procedure, as my friend Mr. Keller just pointed 
out, where at least one of the patients always dies.
  Ultimately, the leak at the Supreme Court was unacceptable, and we 
need to get to the bottom of it, but we shouldn't let that leak 
distract us from the real issue here. That is the victory, the possible 
victory for the unborn.
  The truth is, we don't really know how many babies die each year from 
abortion, but the best estimates are that 906,000 babies will die in 
the United States this year alone. That is nearly two babies per 
minute.
  We are engaged in this great observation of what is taking place in 
Ukraine, and we talk every day about the loss of lives, and we talk 
about how could the Russians be so cruel to bomb a hospital where there 
are expectant mothers and end the life not only of the expectant mother 
but also of the unborn child. But that is what we worry about. So we 
turn our eyes to Ukraine, and we shade our eyes from what is happening 
in the United States of America. Because if we don't see it, we don't 
have to admit that it is happening.
  Look, about 870,000 babies are estimated to have been aborted last 
year, and that number keeps getting higher and higher, but this 
statistic doesn't capture the true numbers. Some States don't report 
accurate information or require abortionists to collect data. The CDC 
doesn't properly catalog this information, either.

                              {time}  1830

  Chemical abortions further complicate the picture because these are 
drugs that can be taken at home with no doctor's oversight and no data 
reporting at all.
  Totally unrecognized, totally uncounted, totally ignored. All of this 
results in an incomplete patchwork of abortion data that hides the true 
number of deaths.
  Contrary to the claims of the abortion industry, chemical abortion 
drugs are not safer or easier for expecting mothers. Women experience 
severe pains, heavy and prolonged bleeding, vomiting, and infections 
that can become as severe as sepsis. These complications can be deadly 
for expecting mothers.
  One study found that one-fifth of all chemical abortions results in 
complications. It also found that chemical abortions are even more 
deadly than regular abortions. So chemical abortions are not safe, they 
are not safer. Yet, the abortion industry keeps promoting them to women 
as an easier alternative to eliminate the life of an unborn baby. Isn't 
it great to put it as an ``easier alternative''?
  Now, despite this evidence, in December 2021, the Biden 
administration announced it was removing the requirement that the 
chemical abortion drug, mifepristone, be dispensed to a pregnant woman 
by a healthcare provider. Look, this change does possess a serious 
threat to women across America and has serious implications for the 
unborn. So many on this side have always been champions of life, all 
life, from its conception to its natural end.
  I have a piece of legislation called the Heartbeat Act, which was 
introduced by former Representative,  Steve King. And this is a very 
simple bill. No abortion can be performed if a heartbeat is detected, 
except in cases where a mother's life is directly in danger.
  And I hear people tell me, Listen, you shouldn't be using that as an 
indicator. Yet, any time I have ever gone in for my medical procedure, 
either the doctor or whomever is there helping them, the first thing 
they do is grab my wrist and try to see if my heart is beating through 
the number of pulses, or they put a stethoscope on. And I am assuming 
they are trying to find out, is this guy still alive. The way they do 
it is by listening to my heart through a medical device.
  We worry so much about life. We worry so much about protecting life. 
We worry so much about this horrible type of activity that is taking 
place all over our globe, and we are more concerned about what the 
Russians are doing in Ukraine than what we are doing right here in the 
United States of America. The numbers pale in comparison to what we are 
doing.
  Now, we can continue to ignore this, and we can continue to argue 
over this, but we can't defy the one basic fact: That we are 
eliminating a life. It is undebatable.
  Now, I think as Republicans, we always believe in the sanctity of 
life. And I will guarantee you there are people on the other side of 
the aisle, many of them feel the same way, they are just limited on 
that which they can speak. And it goes back to the old adage, There are 
no secrets in our house. There are just a lot of things we don't talk 
about.
  Now, we can never compromise on this. I tell people all the time, 
Look, I know there are times in your life where this is an inconvenient 
pregnancy, and that the birth of this child could be an inconvenient 
burden on the family. That is why we have the adoption option. That is 
why we have foster care.
  We have thousands upon thousands upon thousands of loving families 
that would love to take in this new, little baby girl or this new, 
little baby boy; it isn't that there is not a home for them. And while 
it may be inconvenient at the time, there is nothing more precious than 
life.
  Mr. Keller referred to this board that we brought in that said: 
Abortions as of May 12, 2022, 327,649.
  Now, we went a little step further. We are talking about deaths by 
decision. Since we started this talk, 17 more lives have been ended. So 
the 327,649 more accurately should read 327,666.
  Madam Speaker, I would ask all of our colleagues to stop and think 
about what we have done. Some of us fight for life and others of us 
fight for another issue. I'm not sure I ever understood it, because 
usually where it ends up is a screaming match as opposed to a debate in 
saying, What in the world are you thinking? Why do we allow the 
slaughter of these innocents?

[[Page H4915]]

  Now, I know people don't like it because they say, I don't like you 
describing me as that and I don't like being accused of that, and so 
what I would rather do is not talk about it at all.
  Madam Speaker, I had the honor when I first got elected to Congress 
to have lunch with Justice Scalia. We talked about the life issue. 
Justice Scalia looked at me and said, You know what, Mr. Kelly, I find 
it abominable that 50 States who have the responsibility and the 
jurisdiction choose to give the issue to nine former lawyers to make a 
decision for them.
  On this issue, we should never, ever cower away from it. We should 
never, ever deny that it is happening. We should never, ever say that 
my personal preference is for life. But the Supreme Court deemed that 
it was their responsibility.
  The real test will take place if the decision goes back to the States 
and the States and their elected officials make the decision. At that 
point, I would expect those who say, Well, my personal preference would 
be to stand up and defend life because the Supreme Court is no longer 
your barrier, no longer your excuse, and won't be taken into 
consideration.
  Madam Speaker, we have these conversations from time to time, and we 
find them very uncomfortable, and we talk about things like, well, 
words matter, words hurt. Can't we just avoid this?
  By doing so, we are ignoring the fact that we are ending a human 
life. I just tell all the Members that I come in contact, Aren't you 
glad that your parents were pro-life, and you had the chance to 
actually weigh in on it in your time and make a difference?
  It is an issue I don't think should ever go away, and I think it is 
the most important issue that faces us today. I am very concerned about 
what is going on in Ukraine. I am more concerned with what is happening 
in the United States of America and our fellow citizens looking at us 
to say: You need to make a decision. And we are saying to them, your 
individual States with the people you elected should have that debate 
and they should make that decision for you.

  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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