[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18294]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET ACCESS ACT

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to set the record 
straight regarding H.R. 2427, the Pharmaceutical Market Access Act. 
Some groups have made claims that this bill would change the laws 
currently in effect regarding RU-486 or other abortion drugs. Nothing 
could be further from the truth.
  This bill will not, Mr. Speaker, change, supersede or overrule any 
law regarding abortion drugs. All the current laws and regulations for 
abortion drugs as well as all other drugs will remain in force and the 
punishments for breaking those laws and regulations will still apply. 
The truth is that all this bill does is to free Americans to 
participate in the world market for the purchase of FDA-approved 
pharmaceuticals. In doing so, it will not change what is otherwise 
legal or illegal in this country.
  Some of the staunchest pro-life Members of this body support H.R. 
2427 because they understand that it does not threaten or undermine the 
abortion drug laws currently in force. I hope that Americans will 
ignore the unfounded criticisms of this bill. This bill will provide 
Americans, particularly seniors, large savings when purchasing 
prescription drugs.

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