[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PUTTING PREVENTION FIRST

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2004

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Pro-choice 
Caucus Co-Chairs--Congresswoman Slaughter, Congressman Greenwood, 
Congresswoman DeGette, and Congresswoman Johnson for disregarding 
partisan lines and working together for the safety of women and to 
secure women's reproductive rights. I am proud to be an original 
cosponsor to such a comprehensive piece of legislation that does not 
focus on controversy but on preventive care and education.
  Those who consider themselves pro-choice do not agree on many issues 
with those who consider themselves pro-life. But the one thing that we 
both agree on is preventing women and teens from having unintended 
pregnancies and having an abortion. To succeed, we must provide 
education to young women about their bodies and about preventing 
pregnancies and STDs. I always say education is the key. We know that 
education works--rates of unintended pregnancies among teens have 
greatly declined as well as the number of abortions being performed. 
Yet, we have not done enough. In 2000, there were approximately 18.9 
million new cases of STDs in the United States including an increase in 
HIV-AIDS.
  The reproductive health of women should be a public health priority 
for our Nation. Although, I believe abstinence should be taught and 
stressed--it is not a reality for many of our young people. Family 
planning programs must be available to all women--young, older, poor, 
middle class, those with private insurance or on Medicaid. Again, I 
commend the pro-choice caucus for offering legislation that focuses on 
keeping abortion legal, safe, and rare with proper education and 
preventive health care services.

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