[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 24, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2915-H2919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARY OF DOBBS DECISION
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Smith
of New Jersey was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the
majority leader.)
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this
Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago today, the infamous
holding of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were reversed by
the Dobbs decision, brilliantly written by Justice Samuel Alito, who
hails from my State and from my home county, joined by the majority of
the Supreme Court.
They said this: ``The Constitution does not confer a right to
abortion . . .''
They went on to say: ``. . . the authority to regulate abortion is
returned to the people and their elected representatives.''
A new national debate on abortion began 3 years ago. While there will
be setbacks along the way, every human rights struggle has them. I
believe that growing numbers of Americans are finally recognizing the
cheap sophistry, the megadeception, and the culture of denial that
devalues and disrespects unborn baby girls and unborn baby boys and
trivializes the harm suffered by women.
The comprehensive 2025 nationwide Marist Poll found that Americans
are against taxpayer-funded abortion, both at home and overseas in our
foreign aid; strongly support pregnancy care centers, I mean very
strongly support them; and want significant restrictions on abortion.
A large number of elected representatives have passed pro-life laws
to protect unborn children, including the State of Texas; and when a
heartbeat can be detected at around 6 weeks in States like Florida,
Georgia, Iowa, and South Carolina; or when the child suffers
excruciating physical pain, as we know they do, from the abortion
procedure, particularly as the child is being dismembered. That is a
procedure used to kill these children at about 12 to 15 weeks. To date,
24 States have enacted pro-life laws to protect unborn children and
women from the violence of abortion.
Meanwhile, I am happy to say there are more than 2,700 pregnancy care
centers throughout the United States, each and every one of them an
oasis of love, compassion, empathy, respect, and care for both mothers
and their precious children.
Abortion extremists in several States, on the other hand, including
in my own State of New Jersey, have enacted anti-child laws that
legally authorize killing unborn babies right up until the moment of
birth and also forcing taxpayers to subsidize the violent deed.
Twice the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed extremist
legislation that would have explicitly sanctioned abortion throughout
all 9 months of pregnancy, again, right up to the moment of birth, and
would have nullified even modest restrictions enacted over the past
half century, including informed consent, waiting periods, and parental
notification statutes.
Let me just point out to my colleagues, the so-called abortion pill,
mifepristone, is baby poison. It kills the unborn infant by starving
the innocent child to death.
I have done a lot of work on the Foreign Affairs Committee over the
years on food security. I have written two bills that passed the House,
called the Global Food Security Act. I am all about, as we all are,
mitigating hunger in our hometowns and across the world. What does
mifepristone do? It starves the baby to death. The little child can't
get the nutrients he or she needs to survive.
This statement by Dr. Francis makes it clear:
It leads to starvation and eventual death to the fetal
human being.
We also know now, however, that mifepristone is extremely dangerous
to women as well, and this is especially important because this
dangerous drug is used to procure abortion 60 percent of the time, 6
out of 10 abortions in the United States.
On April 28, 2015, the Ethics and Public Policy Center released a
report titled: ``The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals
One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.'' The key
findings were that women who take this drug experience sepsis,
infection, hemorrhaging, and other serious adverse events within about
45 days of taking it. It was the largest study ever, known study of the
abortion pill, 28 times as many abortions as were included in all FDA-
cited clinical trials combined. This is the megastudy, and it found
what was not found earlier because in many cases those trials were sham
trials.
Let me also point out that it needs to be revisited. We call on the
FDA to look at what has been done to women because of this terrible,
terrible abortion drug.
Let me just conclude before yielding to my very distinguished
colleagues: I believe that future generations of Americans will some
day look back on us and wonder how and why a society that bragged about
its commitment to
[[Page H2916]]
human rights could have legally sanctioned and aggressively promoted
abortion by child starvation or by dismemberment, beheading, chemical
poisoning, and forced expulsion from the womb. I call on my colleagues
to defend life.
I also would point out, in an information age, they will wonder, as I
do now, how was it that so many were deceived into believing that
somehow abortion is safe. It is never safe for the baby, and it is
certainly not safe for the mother, as well.
The injustice of abortion violence need not be forever, and we stand
united in trying to protect those innocent human beings.
I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), our very
distinguished Speaker of the House.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for his many
years in this arena defending the sanctity of every human life. I rise
this afternoon to mark this historic lifesaving anniversary.
Three years ago today, the Supreme Court corrected an egregious and
tragic error and affirmed an undeniable truth that was originally
affirmed in our Nation's birth certificate, the Declaration of
Independence. That truth is that every single person is made in the
image of God, and they are thus bestowed with inestimable dignity and
value.
Our value is not related in any way to the color of our skin or what
ZIP Code we live in, what our talents are, what are hobbies or our
aptitudes are. It is all irrelevant because our value, our intrinsic
value, is given to us by our Creator. That is what the Framers of this
grand experiment in self-governance believed.
The Dobbs decision, which moved the question of regulating abortion
to the people's elected representatives, reversed 50 years of inhumane
social engineering and has saved hundreds of thousands of innocent
lives in the process.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America estimates that post-Dobbs, pro-life
policies have now saved more than 200,000 lives annually. That means at
least 200,000 more babies every year are being given the blessing of
life, the opportunity to be born. How profound that is.
On this very joyous, lifesaving anniversary, we remember the more
than 63 million who were never given that opportunity to live, and we
vow to continue building a culture of life and advancing policies which
protect the sanctity of every single human life.
I again salute my friend Chris Smith, the chairman of our Pro-Life
Caucus, for all his work for so many decades in this arena. I thank him
for holding this Special Order hour this afternoon.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank our very distinguished
Speaker for his remarks. No one is more articulate, more passionate, or
more informed on the issues of life across the board than our Speaker,
and what a leader he is. I can't thank Speaker Johnson enough for his
leadership. It is for times such as this he is here and doing a
tremendous job.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller).
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Smith so
much for his decades of service to the pro-life movement.
June 24, 2022, will forever be one of the greatest days in American
history. After 50 years of peacefully praying outside clinics and
marching in Washington and our State capitals, Roe v. Wade was no more.
While the Dobbs decision was a monumental victory, the fight for life
has only just begun.
Many States have stepped up to the plate, with over half of them
enacting laws to protect unborn life. However, blue States have doubled
down on their murderous assault of the unborn. Sadly, my home State of
Illinois has become one of the destination States in the Midwest for
abortion. In 2023, we recorded the most abortions ever in our State's
history, and our radical Governor proudly signed legislation allowing
abortions through all 9 months of pregnancy.
Since the previous administration rescinded safety regulations for
chemical abortions, women are being harmed, and our water supply is
being severely contaminated.
Republicans are the party of life, and we must protect both mom and
baby. That is why I have introduced legislation like H.R. 796, the
Second Chance for Moms Act, which would require the FDA to place a
warning label on chemical abortion drugs so that women can reverse a
chemical abortion before it is too late.
I have also introduced H.R. 797, the Ultrasounds Save Lives Act,
which would mandate an ultrasound be performed before an abortion can
take place. Up to 90 percent of women seeking an abortion who see an
ultrasound of their baby change their minds and choose life.
The Dobbs decision ended the greatest human rights violation of our
time, but our work has just begun. Republicans stand ready to support
women facing crisis pregnancies not just with words but with actions.
I again thank Congressman Smith for commemorating this important
anniversary.
{time} 1600
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend (Mrs.
Miller of Illinois) for her leadership and legislation. We have to get
that passed. She has been a tremendous spokeswoman for years and to
this day, so I thank her very much.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher), my
good friend and colleague who serves on the Energy and Commerce
Committee.
Mr. FULCHER. Madam Speaker, I thank the good chairman of the Pro-Life
Caucus and my friend, Chris Smith, for holding this Special Order.
In the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers made clear
that our creator endows every individual with certain unalienable
rights, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This
is a self-evident truth that, for nearly 50 years, our Nation
tragically denied to millions of unborn children.
However, thankfully, today marks the third anniversary of the Supreme
Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. This
ruling marked the historic overturn of Roe v. Wade and a renewal of
power to elected State leaders. It opened the floodgates not just for
restored State power but also for the voiceless, who now have a chance
at life.
Since arriving in D.C., I have supported numerous legislative
initiatives that protect the sanctity of life. Just this last year, I
was proud to co-lead an amicus brief that supported Idaho in defending
its pro-life law, the Defense of Life Act, against the Biden
administration's efforts to preempt it with their wrongful
reinterpretation of Federal law.
Madam Speaker, protecting the unborn isn't just a legal issue. It is
a moral one. I am honored to stand alongside my colleagues today to
commemorate the anniversary of this momentous victory for life. I will
continue to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and I
urge my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank Russ Fulcher for his
leadership as well. He is on point.
Madam Speaker, I recognize the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs), a
distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee, a very good friend,
and a very powerful voice on so many issues, including defending the
unborn.
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Smith for
yielding time to me today and also for a lifetime of work that he has
put in to save the lives of so many unborn children.
Madam Speaker, today marks the third anniversary of one of the most
consequential decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court in our Nation's
history, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. That bill
corrected a grave constitutional error and returned the power to
protect life back to the States, where it has always belonged.
The decision reached in Roe v. Wade was never grounded in sound law.
It was judicial activism masquerading as jurisprudence. That activism
resulted in the death of more than 60 million innocent lives. That
decision was a lie. It was fabricated out of thin air by activist
judges who thought they knew better than the Constitution and the
people.
Dobbs gave that power back to the people, back to the States. Since
that ruling, we have seen States across the Nation step up and declare
what the
[[Page H2917]]
left refuses to admit, which is that human life begins at conception
and that every child has the right to be born.
They want taxpayer-funded abortion up to and including the moment of
birth. Sadly, my own State has enshrined that in its own constitution.
The Dobbs decision represents a triumph of constitutional originalism
and the sanctity of life, an incredible decision that has the potential
to change the very trajectory of this Nation. It was the fruit of
tireless prayer, relentless advocacy, and the courage of millions who
refused to accept the culture of death.
One of those great leaders sits next to me now, Representative
Christopher Smith.
Life should not be a partisan issue, and I know that we have a chance
to actually rehabilitate this Nation. This is a key issue, and the
Dobbs decision provides us the opportunity to be the final fulcrum of
change here.
I thank God for the Supreme Court. I thank God for people like Chris
Smith and the tireless millions of advocates over the years. I thank
God for this country. May He bless this country.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank Andy Biggs for his
leadership for so many years and for his articulate protection in
defense of innocent human life, which, again, was on full display
today. I really appreciate his leadership.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Shreve), a
member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and we serve
together on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr. SHREVE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith).
Madam Speaker, it is an honor to follow some of our Chamber's most
distinguished colleagues, including Speaker Mike Johnson, on the
anniversary of this historic day.
Three years ago today, on June 24, 2022, our Supreme Court issued its
ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson. Their decision overturned Roe v. Wade and
restored the right of each State, including my home State of Indiana,
to protect the lives of the unborn.
Today, we reaffirm the sanctity of human life, both mother and child.
I join my House colleagues in introducing legislation to designate
June as Life Month. I have prioritized this issue in my time in
Congress, and I will continue to advocate for every unborn child and
offer compassionate care for expectant mothers.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his
strong statement. It is really an honor to serve with him on the
Foreign Affairs Committee. We have many battles there as some try to
push international funding for abortion.
We have a couple more speakers who will be joining us. One will be
the presiding chair, who is making her way down to the podium. I thank
her for her leadership, as well.
Mrs. FEDORCHAK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Smith for his
leadership and for spearheading this Special Order today on this very
important subject.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a pro-life mom of three. Today marks 3
years since the Supreme Court made history with the Dobbs decision.
This was a really important moment that returned the power to protect
life back to the people through their elected representatives in each
State. That is where these decisions belong.
As we mark this anniversary, I am filled with hope that we can
continue building a culture where life is honored, women are supported,
and families are strengthened.
It is my heartfelt belief that abortion should never be anyone's
first or only option. Every woman deserves to know that there is help,
hope, and a path forward, a beautiful path forward that supports life.
The Dobbs decision was more than a legal victory. It was a renewed
call to answer the greatest human rights question of our time. Every
life, born and unborn, has value and dignity.
I was very touched 2 weeks ago when one of my constituents, Jay
Reinke from Lutherans for Life--he lives in Rugby, North Dakota--
visited my office right here in D.C. He left me with a very simple,
fun, but poignant reminder about the pro-life movement, and it really
sums it up very well and simply. This is Horton from ``Horton Hears a
Who!'' Horton's main philosophy was this: ``A person is a person, no
matter how small.''
For America to be a perfect Union, our lives must reflect that. Let's
keep standing together to build a country where no woman feels alone,
no child is unwanted, and every life is seen as a gift.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
reminding us of that very profound truth from ``Horton Hears a Who!''
``A person is a person, no matter how small.'' I love that.
I remind my colleagues that when we talk about pregnancy care
centers--I briefly mentioned them earlier--they are just areas where
women find help during their unintended pregnancies and afterward.
I was speaking at a pregnancy care center fundraiser some years ago,
and there were two women who got up and thanked the director of the
center, who was out near an abortion clinic just gently and very
nonjudgmentally saying: Please reconsider. We can help you.
The two women who spoke decided right there, when they were right
outside the abortion clinic and were going to abort their babies--they
reconsidered, and they had their children. They thanked, with tears,
that director. She was there that day between both of them and an
irrefutable, unchangeable decision that would have ended the lives of
their children.
Later on in the program, two young girls got up. They were teenagers,
12, 13, or 14 years old. They both stood next to the podium, side by
side, and talked about sports. They talked about the value of life. It
was a very good speech. At the end, they turned to the director and
said: Thank you. Had you not been outside of that clinic that day 12,
13, or 14 years ago, we would have been dead.
That is the reality. We are trying to save precious lives.
Birth is an event. It is not the beginning of life. It is an event
that happens to each and every one of us. Children, once born, are
incredibly vulnerable. They need to be held, fed, and loved.
The idea that somehow before birth there is a nonperson there is
absolutely illogical and absurd. We need to love them both. Love the
women the way these wonderful pregnancy care center leaders do, and
also love their babies and care for both. That is what we need to be
doing as a Congress. We need to step up and do more.
Andy Biggs mentioned the over 60 million babies who have died from
abortions over the years. That number is staggering. It is numbing to
think so many children have lost their lives.
My wife, Marie, and I met in the pro-life movement more than 50 years
ago. We were both student activists in New Jersey, at The College of
New Jersey. We also worked with so many through outreach, both in the
churches as well as in the secular space, with post-abortive women, to
love them, too, and tell them that there is a way forward. The loss of
that child is heartbreaking in the extreme, but there is a path
forward. There is reconciliation. There is a way to find peace even
after the fact.
My wife and I know many women who have had abortions. One woman,
Alveda King, the niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, has said,
parenthetically, in one of her speeches: ``How can the dream survive?''
The dream she is talking about is that of her uncle, Martin Luther
King. If we murder the children, how can the dream survive?
She has had two abortions, and she knows the reconciliation that God
can provide. Now, she speaks out to other women to say that there is a
way forward.
I encourage post-abortive women to know that there are many out
there, many loving people, mostly women, who will reach out and help
you in that very difficult time.
I can't thank enough my colleagues who have participated.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McGuire),
my colleague who is a member of the Armed Services Committee and a
distinguished Member of this body.
Mr. McGUIRE. Madam Speaker, life is a miracle, and it must be
protected. I am honored to be here today to commemorate the 3-year
anniversary of
[[Page H2918]]
the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health
Organization.
The Dobbs ruling rightfully overturned Roe v. Wade and brought the
right to decide abortion back to the States. Abortion is not a
constitutional right, nor is it healthcare.
This decision was a momentous victory for life. However, our fight is
not over until all women and unborn children are protected from the
violence of abortion.
Over 66 million abortions have occurred in the United States since
1973. These abortions have not only destroyed the miracle of life but
are dangerous to the health and well-being of women.
Recently, the Ethics and Public Policy Center released a report that
1 in 10 women who take the chemical abortion pill mifepristone
experience a serious adverse event, including sepsis, hemorrhaging, or
infection.
As elected Representatives, we need to unite to support pregnant
women and their unborn babies. I will continue to fight to protect and
support expectant mothers and be a voice for the voiceless and most
vulnerable, the unborn.
Every life is a miracle, and, again, it must be protected.
{time} 1615
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend and
colleague and welcome him to the House. He is doing a great job. I
thank him.
I would again point out that we do have one final speaker on his way,
Dr. Bob Onder, who is the new co-chair of the Bipartisan Congressional
Pro-Life Caucus. He will be here momentarily.
I will say, as we are awaiting his arrival, life is the first human
right. If we don't have that, every other right--religion, speech,
every assembly--falls. Republicans are trying to on our side and we
need friends on the Democrat side to join us and to say that the most
fundamental of all human rights is the right to life.
Ultrasound has exploded any myth that somehow the child is not human
and not alive. My wife and I have four children. We had ultrasounds
with them. We have nine grandchildren. Each of those grandchildren had
a very, very significant ultrasound.
The modern ultrasound today, the details that it depicts of that baby
moving, sucking his or her thumb, we see that and we know we are
parents. We are not going to become a parent. We are not expectant. We
know we are a parent because we have seen our child. The bonding begins
even more earnestly after viewing that child on the ultrasound.
We have got to do far more. We called on the President, and the
President is pro-life. I am happy to say that. He has done much by way
of executive orders and also by reversing previous executive orders
that were anti-life. I could go through all of them.
I think we are on the road now to protecting the innocent and the
most vulnerable. I have so many good friends on the Democrat side of
the aisle. I ask them to reconsider. There needs to be a reevaluation.
The surface appeal arguments that have prevailed for 50 years about
abortion and the slogans that have prevailed with so many need to be
pierced and exposed for what they are.
One of them, as I said in my opening, is about how safe abortion is
to the mom. Now we have this abortion pill. The new data shows beyond
any reasonable doubt almost 11 percent of the women who take the
abortion pill, mifepristone, are suffering very serious consequences
within 45 days. That study needs to enlighten the FDA and others within
our government to say the past trials were sham trials.
Let's not forget RU-486, the abortion pill, which was brought over by
Bill Clinton. It was done in a way I find appalling. He sent FDA
Commissioner Kessler to Roussel-Uclaf, the company marketing it, and
told him to please bring the abortion pill to the United States. The
trials, like I said, were not honest.
Then President Obama--and he was doubled down on by Biden--said don't
report adverse events when somebody takes this pill. He said don't
report them and that we don't have to.
How do we know if any drug is effective or is healthy and does not
pose a risk if we don't report adverse events? Name a drug that says
there is an adverse way of saying--that there is an adverse event and
saying this drug caused this and sometimes it results in a new black
box warning. We have seen that with a number of drugs over the years
where they found out, oh, my God, there has been a subsequent,
unanticipated consequence, a deleterious effect to the user. Let's get
that out. That is not the case with mifepristone.
The Biden administration said nothing. They said to say nothing. That
has to change because this new study that was just released 2 months
ago shatters any thought that somehow this was a safe drug for women.
It is not. It is very, very dangerous.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Onder), a
new member of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus and our co-
chair. The gentleman also serves on the Committee on the Judiciary, the
Committee on Education and Workforce, and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure.
Mr. ONDER. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for his leadership.
I am so excited to join him today as the newest co-chairman of the
Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.
Madam Speaker, today we celebrate the biggest victory for life in
American history, the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson. This
court case held that the Constitution does not confer a right to
abortion and returned the authority to regulate abortion to the
American people and to their elected Representatives.
Roe v. Wade wrongly held that the 14th Amendment's reference to
liberty protects the right to abortion. Planned Parenthood v. Casey
subsequently upheld that argument, but Dobbs v. Jackson rightly
rejected this specious argument.
The Constitution makes no explicit reference to a right to an
abortion. Why is this so? Some would claim that that is because it
wasn't a relevant issue back in the 18th century when the Constitution
was written, but this is not true.
Abortion has been discussed historically since ancient times. It has
been documented as far back as 1075 BC in ancient Assyria. The
Hippocratic oath condemned abortion in the fifth century BC.
The Founding Fathers were well aware of the reality of abortion when
they drafted this Constitution. They did it guided by the principles of
natural law which, according to Thomas Aquinas, is understood by the
light of reason.
The precepts of natural law are written in our hearts. We are
naturally horrified by evil acts, murder being chief among them. Since
human law is based upon natural law, we can rightly deduce that
intentional killing of the innocent has no place in a civilized
society.
As our Founding Fathers were drafting the Constitution, they never
intended for the Constitution to be interpreted in such a manner as to
directly contradict the natural law upon which our Republic was
founded.
Nevertheless, Row v. Wade did exactly that. Thank goodness, we now
have a Supreme Court that understands the Founders' intent to the
natural moral law.
One of the most important tasks we now have in a post-Roe world is
the continuing fight for life at the Federal level. Dobbs v. Jackson
did not simply kick back the issue of abortion to the States. The
wording in the Court's opinion was very clear. The authority to
regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected
Representatives.
Members of Congress and Senators are elected Representatives.
Congress has the authority and the responsibility to legislate on this
issue in certain areas.
There are many policies within our purview. For instance, Federal
taxpayer dollars still flow to Planned Parenthood uninterrupted.
According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, between 2019 and 2024,
Planned Parenthood was issued $66 million of direct funding through
Title X.
From 2019 to 2021, Planned Parenthood received $1.5 billion--yes,
that is billion with a b--from Medicaid/CHIP and $3.3 million from
Medicare.
There is no reason we cannot turn off Planned Parenthood's government
cash flow. The big, beautiful bill in its current form protects
taxpayers from
[[Page H2919]]
being forced to fund Planned Parenthood. This provision must be
preserved in the final bill, otherwise it will be very difficult for
pro-life Members to support the final package.
Another example is the use of Federal dollars on the grotesque
experiments used on baby body parts funded by the taxpayer. The
National Institutes of Health spent $53 million on human fetal tissue
research in 2023 and expects to spend $55 million in 2025.
This is a human rights abuse, and it has not even produced valuable
research. After nearly 100 years, no therapies have been discovered or
developed that require aborted fetal tissue. Meanwhile, ethical
alternatives for research and treatment are available and effective.
Nonfetal cells were used to develop insulin for diabetes and
Herceptin for breast cancer. Umbilical cord blood has treated thousands
of people with blood disorders, and adult stem cells have saved over 1
million people worldwide.
There is no reason to continue funding aborted fetal tissue research.
That is why I introduced the Protecting Life and Integrity in Research
Act of 2025, which blocks all Federal funding for research involving
human fetal tissue from an induced abortion. Language to accomplish
this policy priority was included in the fiscal year 2025 Labor,
Health, and Human Services appropriations bill. I look forward to
seeing it approved and included in the 2026 bill.
Yet another issue is the rise of dangerous chemical abortions.
Chemical abortions comprise over half of all abortions performed in the
United States. New research shows that this regimen is very dangerous
to American women.
More than 1 in 10 women who use chemical abortion pills experience
serious adverse events. The rate of serious adverse events is about 22
times higher than the rate stated by the FDA. It is a blatant lie that
taking mifepristone is safer than Tylenol, as Planned Parenthood likes
to say.
Congress must act to protect women by reinstating the FDA's original
requirement that mifepristone, the abortion pill, be dispensed in
person under medical supervision and not by tele-abortions.
Prescribing these pills to pregnant women without an in-person
evaluation for an ectopic pregnancy or other conditions should be
considered medical malpractice, which indeed it is. I look forward to
working with my colleagues to address these issues.
Today, we celebrate a milestone standing for life. A new study from
the Journal of the American Medical Association found that since Dobbs
v. Jackson, 22,180 more babies have been born in States that enacted
pro-life protection laws. Praise God. What a beautiful gift.
As we celebrate the third anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson, let us
take comfort in knowing we advanced the cause of human dignity in the
United States. Let us continue to fight for life and never give up
hope. The cause of human life is a righteous one because all life is
precious in the eyes of God.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Representative from
Missouri (Mr. Onder) for his tremendous work, including in the
legislature before he came here. He was the author of several important
initiatives. We are very grateful for that. We thank him and really
appreciate him. It is an honor to have him as a co-chair of our
Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their important statements
today. I will just say that we will be tenacious in defense of life. We
will never quit. We pray and hope for reconciliation in America when it
comes to this and all other issues that so seriously divide us.
Mr. Speaker, three years ago today (June 24th), the infamous holdings
in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were reversed by the
Dobbs decision brilliantly written by Justice Samuel Alito--joined by
the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court--which said: ``The Constitution
does not confer a right to abortion'' and then went on ``to return to
the people and their elected representatives . . . the authority to
regulate or prohibit abortion.''
A new national debate on abortion began three years ago--and while
there will be setbacks along the way--I believe that growing numbers of
Americans are finally recognizing the cheap sophistry, mega deception
and pro-abortion culture of denial that devalues and disrespects unborn
baby girls and boys and trivializes the harm suffered by women.
The comprehensive 2025 nationwide Marist abortion poll found that
Americans are against taxpayer funding of abortion at home and in
foreign aid, strongly support pregnancy care centers and want
significant restrictions on abortion.
A large number of elected representatives have passed pro-life laws
to protect unborn children including Texas, and when a heartbeat can be
detected at around 6 weeks--Florida Georgia, Iowa, South Carolina--or
when the child suffers excruciating physical pain from the abortion
procedure at 12-15 weeks.
To date, 24 states have enacted pro-life laws to protect unborn
children and women from the violence of abortion.
Meanwhile, there are more than 2,700 pregnancy resource centers
throughout the United States--each and every one of them an oasis of
love, compassion, empathy, respect, and care for both mothers and their
precious children.
Abortion extremists in several states, on the other hand, including
my own state of New Jersey, have enacted anti-child laws that legally
authorize killing unborn babies right up to the moment of birth while
forcing taxpayers to subsidize the violent deed.
Twice the Democrat-led House of Representatives passed extremist
legislation that would have explicitly sanctioned abortion throughout
all nine months of pregnancy--right up until birth--and would have
nullified even modest restrictions enacted over the past half century,
including informed consent, waiting periods and parental notification
statutes.
The so-called abortion pill--mifepristone--is baby poison that kills
the unborn infant by starving the innocent child to death.
We now know however, that mifepristone is extremely dangerous to
women as well and this is especially important because this dangerous
drug is used to procure at least six out of ten abortions in the United
States.
On April 28, 2025, the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC)
released a report entitled, ``The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance
Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.''
This report, led by researcher Jamie Bryan Hall, is the first in an
ongoing series.
Key Finding: The report found that more than one out of ten (10.93
percent) women who take the chemical abortion drug mifepristone
experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse
event within 45 days.
Study Methods: EPPC analyzed data from an all-payer insurance claims
database that includes 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions
between 2017-2023.
Large Dataset. EPPC states that this is the ``largest-known study of
the abortion pill'' and includes ``28 times as many [abortions] as were
included in all FDA-cited clinical trials combined.''
Recent Data: While the EPPC study uses data that is no older than
2017, EPPC notes that ``the FDA approval of mifepristone relies on data
from more than a decade ago.''
Representative Sample: EPPC explains that this ``real-world, post-
market study'' is ``representational of the women who obtain
mifepristone abortion in the U.S.'' Unlike other clinical trials that
have been conducted, this study does not recruit ``a prescreened group
of generally healthy women.''
Policy Implications: The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA)
decision under the Obama and Biden Administrations to progressively
weaken the safety protocols around mifepristone is based on old, flawed
data.
On the Mifeprex label, the FDA claims that less than 0.5 percent of
women taking mifepristone experience serious adverse reactions. This
claim is based on ten older clinical trials studying a combined total
of 30,966 participants. The recent report suggests that the number of
serious adverse events is at least 22 times higher.
FDA has conveniently failed to collect comprehensive safety data
while making unsupported claims that mifepristone is safe.
Future generations will someday look back on us and wonder how and
why a society that bragged about its commitment to human rights could
have legally sanctioned and aggressively promoted abortion by child
starvation, beheadings, dismemberment, chemical poisoning, and forced
expulsion from the womb.
And in an information age how so many were deceived into believing
that abortion was safe.
The injustice of abortion violence need not be forever.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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