[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 81 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4915-H4918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SUPREME COURT'S IMPENDING DECISION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Perry) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I am joined by my friends here this evening 
to talk about the impending decision of the Supreme Court and, of 
course, the things surrounding it, including the unfortunate, 
unprecedented leak of the information from the Court, as well as the, I 
think, heretofore unprecedented protesting at the homes of the Justices 
that can only legitimately be described as an attempt to influence and 
change their decision. We are going to get into all that.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Bishop), for some comments on this subject.
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) for yielding.
  The gentleman is right. You can't help but notice and perhaps be 
distracted in an unseemly way by the stream of insidious attacks on the 
institution of the United States Supreme Court. It began with ideas 
about packing the Court, the well-known threat by the majority leader 
in the Senate that, ``You won't know what hit you'' to the Justices of 
the Supreme Court, followed by that unprecedented leak--unprecedented 
in the history of the United States Supreme Court for a draft opinion 
to leak to the public.
  But we weren't done then, because in the ensuing two weeks, there was 
the online publishing of information about the residences of the 
Justices of the Supreme Court and the appearance of mobs outside their 
houses to intimidate them.
  And we were not done then. Last night, in the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, there were the most unseemly 
attacks on the institution of the Court.
  We can look forward and we are still not done, because that 
committee, the Democratic majority of that committee, has scheduled for 
next week a hearing on the Dobbs case as it pends for decision on the 
calendar of the Court, another unprecedented trampling of institutional 
norms by a majority who reminds us constantly of their desire to 
protect democracy.
  But as I say, all of that threatens to cover over what should be a 
hopeful moment for this Nation in which we may, for the first time in 
49 years, set aside a regime that has resulted in the loss of 61 
million innocents.
  We may soon see in this Nation that no longer will tiny babies at the 
instant of their formation and their first weeks of growth when their 
formative heart begins to beat and they can sense pain, be forcibly 
ripped, limb from limb, as they are extracted from their mother's womb 
by an abortionist.
  We can aspire now, given the hope that emerges from what was intended 
for evil, but God may use for good, this opinion that says no longer 
will the deficient logic and willful action of a Supreme Court majority 
in 1973 dictate the course of this Nation and commit us to a continuing 
abomination against the most innocent.
  The aspiration that it may come to pass that the abomination of Roe 
v. Wade will join Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson and Korematsu on 
the ash heap of history, a stain upon the history of the United States, 
to be sure, but one that the Nation and those who have the good fortune 
to live within her confines may yet live to see redeemed.
  Aspiration, hope, faith that this Nation may yet indeed see the 
living out of its creed. That is what I aspire to tonight.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and those are indeed 
inspiring and hopeful words as we stand ready to hear the Court's final 
decision, not trying to leak it, not trying to persuade it unduly, 
doing the work of democracy, of the representative Republic, speaking 
on behalf of the people that we represent, our bosses, so that they can 
decide, not just a few folks across the street here in robes, making 
decisions for the whole country.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the good gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Norman).

                              {time}  1845

  Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Perry for getting this 
colloquy together.
   Dan Bishop put it well. America is getting a front-row seat to a 
left, unhinged group that, on an opinion that was leaked--that is 
illegal on its face--can inspire people, before the decision is even 
rendered, to go to the homes of the Supreme Court Justices and attempt 
to change their minds. It is illegal.
  It is in Federal statute. It is punishable by a year in prison. 
Merrick Garland, we call on him to enforce the law, to start arresting 
people.
  When is it going to end, folks? When is it going to end when a 
decision that the left doesn't like, in anticipation, is going to the 
houses of the Supreme Court Justices and all the neighbors, disrupting 
a complete neighborhood and disrupting the lives of Justices who are 
not political figures? They are elected for life.
  When will we see fences stop being put up around the Supreme Court? 
Who would imagine? The Founders would have never guessed that this 
would have been coming to effect.
  Do you know what is so appalling? The comments from this 
administration and from its supporters. A quote by one person who is on 
the abortionist side: ``If abortions aren't safe, then you aren't 
either.''
  Another quote: ``The time for civility is over, man. Being polite 
doesn't get you anywhere.''
  This is just a replay of the vandalism that took place all across 
this country--over 537 cities torn up--and a decision has not even been 
rendered.
  Folks, it is time for a change. It is time for this to stop. It is 
time for all Americans to voice their opinion and displeasure over 
this, the killing of a child.
  When you follow the money, that is where you know where the 
priorities are. For Title X funding, in the `23 budget, this 
administration is putting

[[Page H4916]]

forth $400 million, a $113 million increase to fund abortions that goes 
to Planned Parenthood.
  In the United Nations Population Fund going to countries overseas, 
over $56 million of the taxpayers' dollars are going overseas when we 
can't get baby formula. We can't get supplies that Americans need. The 
inability of a parent to tell a child that is crying into the middle of 
the night ``I can't get you formula'' falls directly on this 
administration.
  I commend the gentleman for doing this. This voice has to get louder. 
Americans are simply tired of it. To do this at this time in history 
has to be stopped. I think it is.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am being joined by some of my other 
colleagues here. Mr. Norman, Congressman Norman, mentioned the baby 
formula. We are here to talk about the stain of abortion on our 
country. But we are watching what is happening, talking about children 
that need their formula.
  Mothers need to feed their babies. They can't get it at the store, 
yet we see the shelves are full down on the southern border, full of 
baby formula.
  What about America's babies, ladies and gentlemen? What about 
America's babies?
  Look, you don't have to take our word for it. We are here to talk 
about the stain of all the lost lives of the innocent over these 49 
years. But don't take our word for it. Don't take Republicans' word for 
it.
  How about Democrats? How about Governor Bob Casey in the Abortion 
Control Act of 1982, where he had to go to the Supreme Court and fight 
against Planned Parenthood for things like parental consent prior to a 
minor undergoing an abortion? What a novel concept. Oh, so striking.
  How about, just yesterday, The Washington Post, not known as a 
bastion of conservatism, saying that yes, experts say protests at 
SCOTUS Justice homes appear to be illegal, appear to be illegal because 
title 18, section 1507 of the U.S. Code, says it is: cannot try and 
influence the decision of the Court.
  But the left doesn't care. Every single day when you wake up, you say 
to yourself, I don't know how it could get much worse. I can't believe 
what is happening, and I don't know what else could get worse than it 
is. But then, every single day, something else unprecedented happens. 
Today, that is occurring yet again.
  If you don't believe me or The Washington Post or Bob Casey, Governor 
Bob Casey v. Planned Parenthood--by the way, I am not sure how Governor 
Casey would feel about his son's actions in the U.S. Senate when they 
voted for the most extreme position, which would make abortion legal at 
any point during the pregnancy, including up until the minute of 
birth--voted for that. His father fought the good fight.
  But what about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, celebrated leftist on the Court, 
celebrated believer in abortion and protector of abortion, who said 
that the 1973 law did too much too fast, said that ``doctrinal limbs 
too swiftly shaped . . . may prove unstable.'' She knew this was a 
stain on our humanity. She knew.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).
  Mr. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the gentleman for 
chairing the Freedom Caucus, and we are grateful for his leadership and 
for having this Special Order tonight.
  I want to take a moment in my opening remarks to say thank you to 
those Supreme Court Justices who, right now, are experiencing 
tremendous and unjust treatment and intimidation from a radical left 
mob that is absolutely out of control.
  Many of us have been in the battle for life for decades. We are 
grateful, finally, that this horrendous stain on America's history is 
potentially coming to an end, and those who have stood for our 
Constitution, Supreme Court Justices Alito, Coney Barrett, Gorsuch, 
Kavanaugh, and Thomas, we all take a moment to say a huge thank you to 
them for standing up for the Constitution, for standing up for the 
unborn, and doing the right thing.
  We want them to know that we and millions of other Americans are 
standing with them in deep gratitude this evening. Never should anyone 
in this country but, at this point, our Supreme Court Justices never, 
ever, ever should they be afraid of the leftist mob because they are 
doing their jobs as Supreme Court Justices to stand for the 
Constitution and to correct unconstitutional law in this case as it 
comes their way. Yet, now, they are facing great intimidation by the 
radical left agenda.

  We, millions of Americans, are absolutely disgusted by what we are 
watching on television as a result of what has already been described 
tonight, an unprecedented and I believe to be probably an intentional 
leak of Justice Alito's decision, the majority decision in this case, 
Dobbs v. Jackson. How in the world does that leak happen? We fully will 
get to the bottom of that with some investigations in the future.
  The behavior now of the left is unacceptable. It is illegal. It needs 
to be dealt with. There needs to be accountability. This is absolutely 
bringing out the worst of the radical left in this country, and I hope 
every American sees it. I hope they see it for what it is.
  Here is the Supreme Court Justices doing their job. There are three 
branches, equal branches, separate branches. This branch, the judicial 
branch, and, in this case, the Supreme Court are doing their job and 
facing the wrath of radical leftists simply because they don't like the 
decision.
  We have fallen so far as a country. We have come to the point that 
now we are willing to end innocent life and rip little baby boys or 
girls from their mothers' wombs.
  I mean, here we have 5 weeks, the child has a heartbeat; 10 weeks, 
arms, legs, fingers, toes; 15 weeks, a fully developed heart, capable 
of feeling pain. It is a child in the womb. It is absolutely amazing.
  Enough is enough. It is time that we hold these people accountable. 
It is time that we come behind our Supreme Court Justices. Whether 
anyone agrees with the decision or not, they are doing their job. We 
obviously agree with the decision. But they are doing their job, and 
they need to be protected.
  We cannot allow the highest court of our land and our Constitution to 
be put in jeopardy as it is now.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for leading this time, this 
Special Order, giving each of us an opportunity to stand for our 
Constitution, to stand for our Supreme Court, and to stand for life.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, the good gentleman from Georgia reminded me, 
as I said, you don't have to believe us Republicans. He reminded me 
that President Biden said this is a child, what we have known all our 
lives. But don't believe us if you don't want to. Believe your 
President. He said it is a child. So we know, right? And we are so 
grateful.
  As people who love life, love the protection of life guaranteed in 
the Constitution, we have suffered and prayed for 49 years. We didn't 
like the decision 49 years ago, in 1973. We didn't like it, but we 
didn't do the wrong thing. We used the system appropriately, as it was 
designed by the Founders and the Framers of our great country, to 
remove the stain of the loss of innocent life from our laws. We are on 
the edge of that.
  But the point is that there is a right way to do things. Even though 
we disagree on occasion, we are a country of laws. If it is going to be 
okay to break the law just because you disagree with a decision, well, 
that is not a country that is going to endure very long.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rosendale).
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the tremendous chairman of the 
Freedom Caucus, the tip of the spear for this body, the conscience of 
the conservative movement here in Washington, D.C. I am proud to stand 
here with him to be a voice for life today.
  It is painfully ironic to me as I look back that, in 1973, the same 
year that the Endangered Species Act was passed to protect endangered 
plants and animals, our Supreme Court made that terrible, flawed 
decision in Roe v. Wade, allowing abortions to take place.
  Now, I don't know how many wolves or how many bears have been saved 
since 1973, but I can tell you that 63 million children have been 
killed. Sixty-three million children have been killed since that day.
  Roe v. Wade created abortions on the basis of a supposed right to 
privacy under the 14th Amendment, but they

[[Page H4917]]

forget about the guarantees in our Constitution to life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness. The very first promise that we have from our 
creator is life.
  The Dobbs decision would suspend the Federal protection of abortions 
and finally return this question back to the States.
  When we leave here, after this decision is finally released, and we 
are all are very optimistic that it is going to overturn Roe v. Wade, 
let us not rest, folks. Let us not rest. We are still going to have to 
go back to our respective State legislatures and give them the support 
and give them the guidance that they are going to need to make sure 
that they protect the lives of the unborn.
  Let's be very clear about this. Democrats, not Republicans, are the 
ones who are out of step with the American public. The rest of the 
world, they are out of step with them. Today, they continue to push for 
taxpayer-funded death on demand. Let's call it what it is. We are no 
longer talking about yanking an unborn child from a mother's womb.
  The Democrats are so out of step they are literally having 
discussions about whether they will kill a child once it is outside of 
its mother. Taxpayer-funded death on demand is what they are trying to 
push forward, and I am so proud that all the Members are standing here 
to fight against that today.
  Roe v. Wade was outdated and was made before scientific advances 
helped us understand the clear humanity of the unborn child. An unborn 
life is a separate, unique individual with its own DNA.
  Let's follow the science. That is what they always say. Let's follow 
the science, our friends to the left. Well, let's follow the science. 
That child has separate and unique DNA. It is a new person.
  Let's protect it.

                              {time}  1900

  I have always been a staunch supporter and defender of the most 
vulnerable, especially the children. My wife and I have participated in 
pro-life marches across the State of Montana in many, many different 
cities and municipalities. This is the first year that we were able to 
join many people here in Washington, D.C., our Nation's Capital--the 
encouragement and the enthusiasm amongst the tens of thousands of 
people to protect life was overwhelming.
  Madam Speaker, I have three children; I have three sons. I can 
remember the first time that I held my children, each and every one of 
them. I looked at their faces to see if they matched mine, to see if 
they had that little dimple in their chin. I looked to see if they had 
all 10 of their fingers and 10 of their toes.
  I will tell you that I thanked God that each one of them was a 
healthy human being that he had gifted to my wife and I and gave us the 
responsibility to nurture that child.
  I now have the experience of doing the exact same thing with a 
granddaughter; to look into her face and see this precious individual. 
I look at my son and my daughter-in-law and know that this child is 
dependent upon them for safety, food, and protection, and know that 
they are going to do the exact same thing that I have been blessed to 
do with them.
  Every life is precious, not perfect. Every life is precious. That is 
what we need to remember today. We have an obligation to protect each 
one, healthy, imperfect, or infirm.
  I pledge to you, God as my judge, that I will do that just as long as 
I am able to take in air and breathe.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Indeed, life is 
precious. It is a blessing. It is a gift. As a parent there is nothing 
like it. We have lamented these last 49 years in the loss of these 
innocent lives, and that our country could stand for that and support 
that; not only just support it, but go out and campaign for it with our 
tax dollars, with our rhetoric, with our policies around the globe.
  Ladies and gentlemen, this is the United States of America where you 
are guaranteed by our Creator, and ordained in the Constitution, the 
gift of life, the blessing of life, the first gift, the first blessing.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).
  Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Perry for leading the House 
Freedom Caucus and for leading this Special Order.
  The Declaration of Independence--what an incredible document that 
was--that was truly the birth certificate, I believe, of our Nation. It 
was the promise, I would call it, and the Constitution was the 
fulfillment of that promise.
  In the Declaration of Independence, it says--and you have heard this 
mentioned tonight, but I echo it: ``We hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their 
Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.''
  The very first among those unalienable rights is life. ``That to 
secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.''
  So who is responsible for securing that right of life? Well, that is 
the government--``deriving their just powers from the consent of the 
governed.'' That is us. That is the American people. That is who 
consents to the government.
  That right of life is endowed by our Creator--by God. God gives you a 
right. Who can take it away? I don't think anyone can take it away. Our 
Declaration recognizes that some people will try, and so our government 
is supposed to protect that right.
  I am so thankful that our Supreme Court, which is one of our coequal 
branches of government, that they actually stood up after 49 years to 
defend that right to life.
  I echo my friend, Congressman Jody Hice from the great State of 
Georgia--Georgia's 10th District, just a little bit below mine--I echo 
his sentiments in thanking the Justices that stood for life: Justice 
Samuel Alito, who actually had to be moved from his residence because 
of the threats; Justice Clarence Thomas; Neil Gorsuch; Brett Kavanaugh; 
and Amy Coney Barrett.
  I think we as a nation should be telling these Justices: Thank you, 
thank you, and thank you. How many millions more lives will be saved 
because of this decision that--though it is not final--we believe will 
be final and will come out in a month? We need to encourage them for 
standing up and defending life.
  I think that is so very important because what we have seen so far 
has been absolutely despicable when it comes from the radical left and 
their threats to the Supreme Court.
  There is a reason that the Supreme Court Justices are confirmed for 
life on the bench, and that is so they are not intimidated. Here we 
have someone in the Supreme Court that leaked a draft decision with 
what I believe was the intent to intimidate, so maybe one of those 
Justices would change their mind. I am praying that they don't. From 
what we see, they will not. Thank God for that.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the good gentleman and all my 
colleagues. Our time is almost over, but I just want to reiterate that 
we--these Members here and many others on this side of the aisle, in 
particular--stand for life.
  We stand for the Constitution which guarantees that life. We stand 
for the rights enumerated in the Constitution that are given to us by 
God--granted to us by God. As my friend said: Can't be taken away--even 
though some will try. When God gives them to you, they can't be taken 
away. That is all by design.
  We stand for the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution that folks 
that would wish to subvert the rule of law--try and color the Court's 
decision--they should be held accountable. All men are created equal 
under the law. Apparently, under this administration some are more 
equal than others.

  Madam Speaker, that is the recipe for anarchy. We are thankful for 
this opportunity to speak to our bosses, our employers, the ones who 
rule over us, the good Lord, and our constituents this evening.
  Madam Speaker, we are thankful for the time to speak on this very 
important issue, stand for the Constitution, stand for the law, and 
importantly, stand for life.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H4918]]

  

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