[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 442-448]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              ROE v. WADE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, this is the 35th anniversary of 
Roe versus Wade, and tonight I would like to recognize Congressman 
Chris Smith, who has been a committed champion to protect the unborn 
for as long as he has remained a Member of this body. So I yield now to 
Congressman Smith.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today, 35 years after the 
infamous Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion on demand 
throughout pregnancy, we mourn the estimated 50 million innocent girls 
and boys whose lives were cut off by abortion, a staggering loss of 
children's lives, equal to six times the total number of all people, 
young and old, living in my home State of New Jersey.
  Someday, Mr. Speaker, future generations of Americans will look back 
on us and wonder how and why such a rich and seemingly enlightened 
society, so blessed and endowed with the capacity to protect and 
enhance vulnerable human life, could have instead so aggressively 
promoted death to children and the exploitation of women by abortion. 
They will note with keen sadness that some of our most prominent 
politicians and media icons often spoke of human and civil rights, 
while precluding virtually all protection to the most persecuted 
minority in the world today: unborn children.
  On Sunday, Senator Barak Obama criticized Americans for both our

[[Page 443]]

moral deficit and what he called our ``empathy deficit'' and called 
upon us to be our brothers' and sisters' keepers.

                              {time}  1945

  Can Senator Obama not see, appreciate or understand that the abortion 
culture that he and others so assiduously promote lacks all empathy for 
unborn children, be they black, white, Latino or Asian, and is at best 
profoundly misguided when it comes to their mothers? Why does 
dismembering a child with sharp knives, pulverizing a child with 
powerful suction devices more powerful than 20 to 30 times the average 
cleaning machine, vacuum machine, or chemically poisoning a baby with 
any number of toxic chemicals fail to elicit so much as a scintilla of 
empathy, moral outrage, mercy or compassion by America's liberal elite?
  Abortion destroys the very life of our ``brothers and sisters,'' and 
the proabortion movement is the quintessential example of an ``empathy 
deficit.''
  Mr. Speaker, we need to be blunt. Abortion is violence against 
children. It is extreme child abuse. To strip away the euphemism, it is 
cruelty to children. Sadly, abortion is not only legal until birth, but 
the daily perpetrators of this terrible injustice are massively 
subsidized by liberal politicians who enrich the abortion industry with 
taxpayer funds.
  In 2008, the largest abortion provider in the Nation, Planned 
Parenthood, continued to receive huge amounts of taxpayer funds. Some 
time ago on the floor, Mr. Speaker, I asked Americans, I asked my 
colleagues, and suggested it was time to take a second look at Planned 
Parenthood, ``Child Abuse, Incorporated.'' Every year they abort over 
265,000 children in their clinics, a huge and staggering, stunning 
number of child deaths. And yet they get massive amounts of Federal 
funds and local funds.
  Mr. Speaker, there are at least two victims in every abortion. It is 
time to recognize and accept the inconvenient truth that abortion 
exploits women.
  Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, has had 
two abortions. Today she has joined the growing coalition of women who 
deeply regret their abortions and are part of a group called Silent No 
More. Out of deep personal pain and compassion for others, they 
challenge us to respect, protect and tangibly love both mother and the 
child. The women of Silent No More give post-abortive women a safe 
place to grieve and a road map to reconciliation. And to society at 
large, these brave women compel us to rethink and reassess the chief 
sophistry of the abortion culture. Reflecting on their famous uncle's 
speech, the ``I Have a Dream'' speech, Dr. Alveda King asks us, ``How 
can the `Dream' survive if we murder the children?''
  Finally, 35 years after Roe, the pro-life ranks today have swelled 
with abortion survivors, women who tell their stories with great 
bravery and candor. I remember hearing a woman right outside of the 
Supreme Court who, while she was actually getting the abortion, said to 
the doctor, she was only partially sedated, said, ``It is trying to 
move.'' She said she wanted to get up off of that table and run out the 
door, and the nurses practically screamed at her and said, ``It is too 
late. The abortion is already underway.'' So many others who have 
actually seen the child after being aborted, very often they whisk the 
baby away so that there is no contact made, who then tell the story of 
the nightmares. Again, the Silent No More campaign helps these women 
reconnect and find reconciliation and hope for their shattered lives.
  Today, at the March for Life, the ranks of the pro-life movement was 
filled with young people. I have gone to that march each year for 35 
years. I have never seen more young people speaking out passionately, 
all ethnicities represented, young boys and young girls, teenagers and 
young adults, who say we are going to be, and are, the pro-life 
generation. And they have certainly reason to react that way. Every 
third member of their generation has died from abortion.
  Mr. Speaker, finally, I hope this Congress takes a long and hard 
second look at the glib euphemisms that are used to promote abortion, 
the marketing strategies, the polls that have driven this terrible 
issue forward, and strip it all away. Look at the deed itself: Chemical 
poisoning, dismemberment, partial-birth abortion awakened at least some 
Members to the cruelty of abortion. Connect the dots. Every method is 
an act of violence. And again, there are two victims in every abortion, 
mother and child.
  I truly believe that united in prayer, united in fasting, and with a 
lot of hard work, just like the abolitionists of old, who said that you 
cannot discount the humanity of people because of the color of their 
skin, well, the dependency or the immaturity of a child also should not 
become a disqualifier. America's dark night of child slaughter will 
some day, and some day soon, Mr. Speaker, come to an end.
  I yield back to Mr. Franks and thank him for his extraordinary 
leadership on this human rights issue.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to Mr. Walberg.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and good friend from 
Arizona for the opportunity to speak tonight. I just came back from 
Iraq and Afghanistan this past week, and on the way back from Kabul to 
the airport, I looked out of our window of the vehicle we were riding 
in and I saw two young children running alongside the vehicle, as 
children will do, having fun together. They were racing each other and 
racing our vehicle. I looked in their eyes, and I saw nothing but what 
I would see in normal little children's eyes having fun, except these 
two young children had smudged faces and tattered clothes that they 
were playing in, in a war zone. And I thought to myself, these two 
little children could be just like a number of children we have read 
about, through the barbarism of individuals for a particular philosophy 
would have ammunitions strapped to them, and then, in a barbaric, 
gruesome way, their lives taken.
  On this day, the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we live in a 
civilized country, well educated, cleaned up, sanitized, and yet, 
because of a lie, there are innocent women, and indeed birth fathers, 
as well, who are caught in a lie and a trap that causes them to, in a 
sanitized way to some degree, yet the ultimate outcome is the same, to 
snuff out innocent lives for no reason that justifies that taking 
place. Today marks the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since that 
time, nearly 50 million abortions have been performed. That is a 
staggering number which intensifies when we recognize each abortion 
consists of one innocent life snuffed out and at least one other life 
that is wounded.
  While I respect the fact that others may disagree, I believe that 
human life begins at conception. That means that almost 50 million 
lives have been extinguished since 1973. Because of Roe v. Wade, we 
have learned that a reckless majority on the Supreme Court can visit 
untold destruction and pain on us as a Nation if they search for 
results in individual cases that are outside the scope and text of the 
history of the Constitution.
  We have learned that the activist justices can find ``penumbras, 
formed by emanations'' in the Bill of Rights as a basis for 
establishing new constitutional rights that are not found anywhere in 
the text or history of the Constitution, as Justice Douglas 
ridiculously claimed in the case of Griswold v. Connecticut, a 
precedent for Roe v. Wade.
  Sadly, unelected activist judges with lifetime appointments continue 
to make law rather than to apply the law as it is written. As elected 
officials, it is our right to make law, and it certainly is not the 
right of judges and justices to do so. Rather, they must follow the law 
as we, the accountable decision makers, have written it.
  We have engaged in a long struggle and must continue in that struggle 
to ensure that the Supreme Court and our lower Federal courts are 
stocked with people who abide by the text and the history of the 
Constitution instead of acting as super-legislators in making new law.
  Mr. Speaker, today, on the 35th anniversary of that tragic ruling, my 
heart

[[Page 444]]

is grieved; yet, it is heartened. Though we mourn for lives that could 
have been, we see significant progress in the fight to defend human 
life. Just today, a bipartisan majority in the Michigan Senate voted to 
ban partial birth abortion. Abortions have declined by nearly 20 
percent in the past 15 years, and every year Americans have become 
increasingly pro-life. I, along with millions of Americans, remain 
committed to saving the unborn and upholding the right to life our 
Nation was founded upon. Perhaps the tide is finally turning.
  I also call, Mr. Speaker, for an all-out effort of compassion for the 
women and the birth fathers who have been caught in the lie of abortion 
and have had their lives altered. A loving God offers forgiveness and 
hope and healing, and we, His people, can offer no less.
  I pledge to continue to work every day to bring back the sanctity of 
life to our Nation. And it is heartening to stand here with my 
colleagues tonight and with hundreds of thousands of individuals today 
on the Mall and speak for life.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the distinguished 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for leading this hour 
and for allowing me to be with him tonight and for giving me this time.
  I think my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, know that my prior career, my 
profession before becoming a Member of Congress 5\1/2\ years ago was I 
practiced medicine, and not just as a medical doctor, but as an OB/GYN 
specialist. In that specialty for 26 years, I delivered over 5,200 
babies during that time. I am very proud to say that I performed no 
abortions. But I think it is important for our colleagues, Mr. Speaker, 
and for men and women across this country to understand how this Roe v. 
Wade came about 35 years ago in 1973.
  Prior to that, abortion in many States was illegal. It could not be 
performed. In some instances, yes, it was true that women would have 
what is known as a criminal abortion done, and sometimes with very 
devastating consequences to the woman. If the abortion was done by a 
doctor with skills, surgical skills, there probably were no 
complications, other than destroying that human life, that little human 
life. But if the abortion was performed in an unprofessional, botched 
manner, then the life not only of the fetus but also of the woman was 
at stake.
  When I was an intern at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, 
back in those days in the late 1960s, 1969, 1970, yes, there 
occasionally was a patient on the ward suffering from septic shock. And 
in one instance I very vividly remember that that patient, that mother 
who had had an abortion done and the complications thereof, infection 
set in and she died. And these cases were presented across the country 
to the Supreme Court eventually, basically, in Roe v. Wade. And then 
all of a sudden the Supreme Court said that no State, no State could 
proscribe abortion.
  That is what we got to in 1973. And since that time, of course, as my 
colleague from Michigan just mentioned, something like 48 million lives 
have been destroyed in the abortion process, in that so-called safe, 
legal process, where the procedures are done by licensed physicians, 
and they are done under certain circumstances, maybe in a hospital with 
anesthesia, and it is very safe and that no mothers die.
  Well, some mothers do die. But without question, some 48 million 
little children, potential Members of Congress in fact, lost their 
lives by this abortion procedure. And that is why I am so proud to be 
here tonight to join with my colleagues, with the gentleman from New 
Jersey, Mr. Smith, Mr. Franks, Mr. Davis, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Lamborn and 
others to talk about this issue.

                              {time}  2000

  Each of us will have a little bit of time. But I am very grateful to 
be standing here tonight to know that today on the Mall, right here at 
the Capitol, we had so many come. I don't know how many thousands of 
families came. We had something like 12 or 14 Members of Congress speak 
on behalf of life, the life of the infant, the life of the fetus. This 
is a very proud day, and it is a very proud evening too for us to stand 
here for the sanctity of life.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to focus on a couple of charts that I have 
got. The first one, if my colleagues will look, basically says this. 
This is a quote from a very important person, and I will mention her in 
just a minute. ``Abortion, at any point, was wrong. It was so clear. 
Painfully clear.'' That ends the quote. This is from Norma McCorvey, 
better known as Jane Roe from Roe v. Wade. In other words, she was the 
plaintiff.
  Mrs. McCorvey wanted to have an abortion in a State that didn't allow 
it, so she was the plaintiff. This quote is taken from her book, ``Won 
by Love'' by Norma McCorvey, and she is now a pro-life advocate. She 
didn't have that abortion, because by the time Roe v. Wade was passed, 
she had gone on and had that little girl, who is in her mid-thirties 
now. Mrs. McCorvey, Norma, is also the proud grandmother of two 
children. Thank God that she didn't have that abortion.
  Listen to what Susan B. Anthony, this is way long, many years ago, in 
another century, said even before this issue came up. ``Abortion is a 
reflection of our society's failure to meet the needs of women. We are 
dedicated to systematically eliminating the root causes that drive 
women to abortion.'' That is a quote from Susan B. Anthony.
  What I want to point out is that many States now, many States, 
including my own State of Georgia, I am very proud that we have passed, 
as this poster shows, a ``woman's right to know law,'' required not 
just in Georgia, but in 23 States, that women who seek abortions be 
fully informed about relevant issues such as, the first bullet point, 
medical risk of abortion; the possible detrimental psychological 
effects of an abortion; a father's legal responsibility in State laws 
for paternal child support; and medical assistance benefits may be 
available to prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care.
  Mr. Speaker, the Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP, that we 
just in the last month reauthorized for an additional 18 months, does 
include prenatal care so that women are not forced for financial 
reasons to terminate a pregnancy. So this is really what Susan B. 
Anthony was talking about so many years ago.
  What we are seeing as a result of that, in my last chart that I want 
to present, is that over these 35 years, we are seeing a gradual and 
actually dramatic drop in the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 
15 to 44. Those women who are most fertile, that peaked at 29 per 1,000 
women that age back in 1979. Now the latest statistics in 2005, that 
number has dropped down to something like 19.4. So we are making great 
progress.
  The point that I want to make in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, is we don't 
need to continue to destroy life. We need to inform women. We need to 
inform women of their choices, the alternatives to destroying a human 
life, which in almost every instance they are opposed to. But they are 
uninformed, they are frightened, they are scared, they are concerned 
about raising a child as a single parent. But if they are given the 
opportunity maybe to place that child for adoption, if they know there 
is financial help available, if they know that there are counselors who 
want to work with them that help them if they decide to have their baby 
and be a single parent, if that is the case, these are the things that 
we need to be concentrating on, Mr. Speaker.
  So as I conclude, I just want to say to the gentleman from Arizona, I 
thank him for giving all of us an opportunity tonight to speak on this 
hugely important issue. Let's stand for the rights of the unborn. Let's 
not be so concerned about some person who is already here, man or 
woman, about their property rights guaranteed under the 14th Amendment. 
Let's think about what we said in our Declaration of Independence and 
think about unalienable rights, such as the right to life. Let's think 
about what is in the Charter of the United Nations, that every member

[[Page 445]]

nation is bound to abide by, and that is the sanctity of life. And, 
last but not least, what God says in both the New and the Old 
Testament, thou shalt not kill; you shall not take another's life. That 
is why we stand here tonight, to bring that to our Members.
  I yield back to the gentleman from Arizona, and thank him for 
allowing me to be part of this.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the distinguished gentleman for his 
compelling words.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee, 
Mr. David Davis.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Franks, thank you for your 
leadership on this very important issue.
  To many of us across this great land of America, life is an emotional 
issue. To many of us, it is a Biblical issue. The Bible actually tells 
us that we are knit together in our mother's womb.
  Let's go back and just think about a day that we lost a lot of 
Americans. Let's go back to September 11th, 2001. If you are listening 
across this great land, just think back how you felt on September 11th 
when you learned that 3,000 Americans had been killed. Do you remember 
where you were? Do you remember how you felt? It was 3,000 Americans 
killed that day. I know exactly where I was and I know how I felt.
  Now, where were you on September 12th, September the 13th, September 
the 14th, September the 15th? Those days, almost 4,000 Americans were 
killed, and every day subsequent. We are losing Americans to the tune 
of almost 4,000 Americans a day.
  Ronald Reagan once said ``abortion is only advocated by persons who 
have themselves been born.'' His pro-life position was not limited to 
the beginning of life issues, but extended all the way to natural 
death. It is clear that Reagan would have stood against pro-assisted 
suicide and euthanasia laws. In 1988, he declared ``The right to life 
belongs equally to babies in the womb, babies born handicapped and the 
elderly and the infirm.''
  In the years since our Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade and 
declared abortion a constitutional right, the assault Mother Theresa 
rightly called the ``war against the child'' has claimed nearly 50 
million Americans, 1.2 million every year, and, yes, almost 4,000 
babies every day.
  Pro-life policies such as parental consent and waiting periods enjoy 
tremendous public support, 82 percent and 74 percent respectively. 
Washington, this Congress, should deny hundreds of millions of dollars 
to Planned Parenthood and abortion centers that promote and perform 
abortions here and abroad. The unborn child has the right to life, and 
that right should not be taken away.
  Roe v. Wade was poorly conceived and morally wrong. This decision 
should be overturned. Life begins at conception. An unborn baby should 
share the birthright of all Americans, the right to life, liberty and 
the pursuit of happiness.
  I yield back to the gentleman.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman for his very moving 
words. I would now yield to Mr. Lamborn from Colorado.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for 
putting this time together and for recognizing me.
  Mr. Speaker, today marks the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade 
Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in the United States. 
Elective abortion, a tragic practice, is the most common medical 
procedure performed in the United States. Let me repeat: Abortion is 
the most common medical procedure performed in the United States, and 
is perpetuated by a perverse logic that the life of an unplanned child 
is somehow not of the same value as that of any other child.
  A recent study published by the Journal of Child Psychology and 
Psychiatry in 2006 indicates that women who have had an abortion have a 
much higher incidence of mental health problems, including depression, 
anxiety, suicidal behaviors and substance abuse. Abortion can also 
cause physical side effects, such as reduced fertility, hemorrhaging, 
and even death.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize pregnancy care centers around the 
country, who defend the lives of the unborn and protect the physical 
and psychological health of American women who find themselves in 
unplanned pregnancies every year. Through the support of selfless men 
and women devoted to a culture of life, these care centers are able to 
give concrete, practical assistance to women, from pregnancy testing to 
prenatal vitamins, ultrasound imaging and infant supplies.
  Tragically, many women in the United States are told and believe 
abortion is the only way. Pregnancy care centers respect these women 
and their right to know that there are other options. These facilities 
offer guidance for mothers faced with heart-wrenching decisions. 
Whether the woman chooses to give the child up for adoption or raise 
the baby, pregnancy care centers provide counseling, information and 
support.
  Pregnancy care centers across the world have and will continue to 
reduce abortion rates, save unborn lives, and help women avoid the 
psychological and physical damages of abortion.
  Tonight, I mourn the 50 million American lives cut short by abortion, 
and pray that God continues to protect and strengthen those touched by 
this tragic practice. I will be among those working to end it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back to the gentleman.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I would now yield to the very distinguished gentleman 
from Indiana (Mr. Pence).
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for 
yielding. I also want to thank him for his extraordinary and 
compassionate and principled and eloquent advocacy of life. The people 
of Arizona who cherish life are extraordinarily well served by Mr. 
Franks.
  I come to this well having enjoyed a day, Mr. Speaker, on the 
National Mall, where over 100,000 Americans by some estimates gathered 
in the bitter cold 35 years after a Supreme Court decision, and they 
gathered for one reason and one reason only, because those Americans 
cherish the sanctity of life and are unwilling to go quietly into that 
good night, which is an America that walks away from a belief that 
every life is sacred.
  100,000 people. Not at the podium. Not with the television cameras on 
them, as some of us were. Not with the accolades of people in a 
movement who will write on the Internet or write editorials how they 
approve of our stand. But in the obscurity of a throng of tens of 
thousands, Americans came. In the dead of winter. It was extraordinary, 
Mr. Speaker, I must say, and it gives me great hope about this 
movement.
  The sanctity of life is the central axiom of Western civilization. It 
is, I believe, our commitment to the unalienable right to life and 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness that split the atom of the 
American experiment and has created the freest and most prosperous and 
most powerful nation in the history of the world. It is because we 
embrace that ethic that we are endowed by our Creator with the 
unalienable right to life. And there, 35 years after Roe v. Wade, 
100,000 Americans are still standing in the cold for that principle.
  I rise tonight very humbled to hear the eloquence of my colleagues, 
but filled with hope after a hurried day in this movement, because I 
have seen the faces of the foot soldiers of the right to life. I have 
stood among a throng of young Americans, particularly young women under 
the age of 30, who are choosing life as never before. In the last 20 
years, abortion has declined by more than 20 percent.

                              {time}  2015

  I believe, as you could see in those relationships today on the 
National Mall, it's not just because of political debate, but it's 
because of moral persuasion. In the last 35 years, I believe in the 
quiet counsels between mothers and daughters, between grandmothers and 
granddaughters, the truth about abortion is being told.
  Life is winning in America.
  I rise tonight simply, Mr. Speaker, to speak a little out of turn, 
and not just

[[Page 446]]

to your chair, but maybe to those that are looking in tonight and to 
say thank you for standing for life. Your efforts on behalf of the 
unborn are not in vain, and I do believe in our lifetime, if we will 
exercise the faith and perseverance and compassion and civility that 
was in evidence on the National Mall today, we will see Roe v. Wade 
collapse like the Berlin Wall. It will collapse finally and at last on 
that day when people on both sides of the debate don't want it there 
anymore.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I just thank the gentleman so 
much for his moving words.
  Now I yield to the gentleman from Iowa, Congressman King.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank the gentleman from Arizona for organizing 
this Special Order tonight on this day that culminates a long period of 
time here in Washington across America where we have gathered together 
to march and to speak and to appeal and to pray for the end of this 
holocaust of abortion in America.
  I have enjoyed those experiences that I have been able to share with 
my pro-life colleagues. As I went to the mass last night in the 
basilica and looked out across that sea of faces, more than 10,000 
strong on the ground floor of that magnificent cathedral up on the hill 
in northeast Washington, realizing that there are 10,000 people in the 
main floor and another 5,000 in the basement, 15 to 16,000, many young 
people, who have done the pilgrimage from all across America, gotten on 
a bus and ridden for hours, maybe 18 or 20 or more hours to get here. 
They will go to the service, and they came to the march, the march for 
life today on The Mall in the cold and in the drizzle. They got back on 
the bus, some of them without even getting a chance to get warm, and 
headed back to their homes again. Those are people with conviction. 
Those are people that understand the two simple and basic questions 
that are before us here.
  The first question is, and so when I ask many high school students in 
public auditoriums, do you believe in the sanctity of life? Is human 
life sacred in all of its forms? Is the person sitting next to you, is 
their life sacred? Is your life sacred? And I get the answer, the 
universal answer is yes, yes from all of them. I have never had a 
dissenter.
  Then I asked them, there is only one other question you need to ask 
to determine your position on life, and that is, this sacred life, your 
life, the person sitting next to you, at what instant did that life 
begin?
  We know that there is only one instant, and that is the instant of 
conception. But once a person understands and comes to a faithful 
conviction that human life is sacred, and it begins at the instant of 
conception, we also will never lose the debate, will never lose our 
conviction.
  I would invite anyone in this Congress to come to this floor and 
debate me on those two points. I would like to have someone stand up 
and tell me their life began at some other instant than conception, but 
it will not happen, because they know that the minute, the instant that 
anybody over here takes a position other than this sacred life begins 
at the instant of conception, they have instantly lost the debate.
  That's the point that I think all Americans should understand. If 
they do, this Nation will one day put an end to Roe v. Wade.
  I am a Catholic, an active Catholic, and I understand the church's 
teachings on this. I wonder, sometimes about some of the active 
Catholics in this Congress that do not necessarily reflect the church's 
teachings. I would love to see, and I would call out an invitation next 
year for the special mass at the basilica, for the Speaker to join us 
there in our public prayer for those 50 million lives of those little 
babies, those little babies that will never have the opportunity to 
laugh, to love, never be hugged at night, never be kissed at night, not 
a single night, 50 million babies, 50 million little empty pairs of 
shoes, 50 million empty baby cribs, 50 million toys never played with, 
50 million children, innocent as could be, denied the right to life.
  I reflect upon the appointments to the Supreme Court that the 
President made in this past term, two magnificent appointments to the 
Supreme Court, and that would be Chief Justice Roberts and Justice 
Alito. We got a Supreme Court decision that upheld our ban on partial 
birth abortion finally, finally a measure that came from this Congress 
that was not denied by the Court.
  When I looked across the sea of faces that filled The Mall as far as 
the eye could see today by the tens of thousands, and perhaps by the 
hundreds of thousands, and reflected that they all came here to this 
city today because the Court injected themselves into a policy 
decision, not a constitutional decision.
  Roe vs. Wade and Doe v. Bolten, both need to be ripped out and both 
need to be overturned. The two magnificent appointments to the Supreme 
Court that understand this Constitution to mean what it says and mean 
what it was understood when it was ratified by our Founders, those 
appointments are wonderful appointments that move us down the line.
  This Constitution will protect life; it will protect marriage. But we 
must have a Supreme Court that protects the Constitution, that does not 
amend it with their liberalism and their activism.
  Mr. Speaker, the next two appointments to the Supreme Court will be 
more important than the last two. The next two appointments to the 
Supreme Court will determine whether we preserve and protect life and 
whether we preserve and protect marriage. Those two are 
transformational issues before this Congress. We must stand up for 
life.
  We said goodbye to the elegant statesman and the great lion for life, 
Henry Hyde, Chairman Henry Hyde. Many of us count him as a friend. I 
counted him as one of the honors of my life to be able to call him as a 
friend and someone whom I admired.
  The words on the program at Henry Hyde's funeral were a quote from 
him that say this: ``When the time comes, as it surely will, when we 
face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I've often thought, as 
Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You 
have no advocates. You are there alone standing before God, and a 
terror will rip through your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I 
really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I 
think there will be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in 
this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world, and 
they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will 
say to God, 'Spare him because he loved us,' and God will look at you 
and say not 'Did you succeed?' but 'Did you try?'''
  God bless his life and his effort, and may he save the lives of the 
unborn.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the distinguished gentleman.
  I now, Mr. Speaker, yield to the distinguished gentleman, Congressman 
Jordan of Ohio.
  Mr. JORDAN of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank 
him for his compassion and his commitment to protecting all life, 
defending those defenseless and his tireless work, and my colleagues as 
well, who understand that all life is sacred.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank, as other speakers have done, I want to 
thank those thousands of families, thousands of young people, thousands 
of Americans who gathered today in our Nation's Capital. They too 
understand that life is precious, life is special, life is sacred and 
it should be protected in all forms.
  I really want to thank them for two things, and I said this today at 
the rally. First, I want to thank them for having the willingness to 
engage in the struggle. I learned a long time ago that nothing of 
meaning, nothing of significance happens by hanging out on the 
sidelines. You have got to be willing to get in the game step, you have 
got to be willing to get out of the shadows, step in the game if you 
are going to make a difference.
  That is what Americans were doing today here in our Nation's Capital. 
I also want to thank them for something else. One of the things that 
all of us as

[[Page 447]]

Members of Congress deal with are those interest groups, those 
lobbyists who want to come talk to us about all kinds of issues.
  I say this every chance I get to talk about the life issue. We have 
all kinds of lobbyists who want to come talk to us, then to talk to us 
and influence the way things work here in Congress, the way legislation 
is passed. The reason they want to talk to us is they and their clients 
have a financial interest at stake.
  But the people who came to our Nation's Capital today, they had 
nothing to gain financially for doing what they did today. They simply 
did it because it was the right thing to do. They understand that the 
truth is the truth, and that life should be protected. I reassured them 
today. I think we are going to win.
  It may take some time, but America always gets it right. Sometimes it 
takes us a while, but we get it right. We are making progress. We wish 
it would happen quicker. It has been 35 years now in this struggle. We 
wish it would happen quicker, but we are getting closer. Someday in 
this great country, the greatest Nation in history, we will get it 
right and every single human life will be protected.
  I said to many of the folks that I had an opportunity to speak with 
today, you know, stay positive, because in America things do work out 
and the truth does prevail in the end.
  I told them the story from scripture, and I will finish with this 
before I yield back to my old friend. The old story from scripture is 
so appropriate, I think, in that we should stay positive. The story 
goes, when the Israelites were camped against the Philistines, and 
every day the Philistine giant would walk out and issue the challenge, 
Who will fight Goliath? The Israelites' response was, He is so big we 
can never defeat him.
  But David's response was, He is so big I can't miss. That is the 
attitude we saw on display today in our Nation's Capital. That's the 
attitude that has always been a part of the American experience. That 
is the attitude we need as we go forward. We will win this effort and 
all life will be protected in this country because you have great 
people like Mr. Franks from Arizona. I appreciate his time tonight in 
scheduling this hour for us.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman so much.
  I now yield to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Sali).
  Mr. SALI. Thank you, gentlemen.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to commemorate National 
Sanctity of Human Life Day. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the 
Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, that landmark decision that so 
drastically altered the landscape.
  This month also bears a sad distinction. In January 2008, we passed 
the tragic mark of 50 million lives that have been lost to abortion 
since Roe vs. Wade. We cannot help but wonder about the implications of 
this astonishing statistic. We are all concerned about the shortage of 
workers in our country. So many of those unborn lives lost due to Roe 
v. Wade would now be in the workforce.
  What about Social Security? Could we not better sustain the vitality 
of the program if these same workers were paying into the system? These 
are matters of demographics and economics, yes, but ultimately they are 
about the most profound issue of all, the simple but indispensable 
sanctity of human life.
  In this very room, from the view of the distinguished Speaker, the 
center of relief that looks over all of us is an image of Moses, the 
lawgiver. In the 90th Psalm, Moses wrote ``Teach us to number our days 
aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom . . . May your deeds be 
shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.''
  How many of our children will never be able to number their days 
because their days will never begin? How many will never know God's 
splendor in the life He wants for each of us, because they never have 
been allowed to see the light of day?
  As the father of six and the grandfather of six, five of whom have 
been born and one who remains unborn, yes, a grandfather of six, I have 
watched the breathtaking miracle of life unfold again and again. Every 
time I see a small child, I am reminded of the wondrous blessings of a 
creator who allows us to share in the miracle of creation.
  In the words of the poet William Wordsworth, ``Heaven lies about us 
in our infancy.'' It is essential for all of us to remember that in any 
abortion there are two victims, the mother and the unborn child.
  Mr. Speaker, we have to do a better job of communicating to women in 
crisis what public and private resources are available to help them, to 
reach out more vigilantly to these women with a tenderness and a 
practical compassion our country has shown so often to so many.
  I applaud the selfless unsung sacrifices of tens of thousands of our 
fellow citizens who care for women with crisis pregnancies and to 
provide spiritual, emotional and material support for them.
  It is fitting that we recall the words of our Declaration of 
Independence, that our creator has endowed all with certain unalienable 
rights, the first of which is life. The little one in the womb is a 
person with value independent of his or her mother and deserves the 
right to that life.
  As Members of Congress, we are uniquely positioned to protect the 
most innocent and vulnerable members of our society, the unborn. If we 
cannot protect the most innocent and helpless among us, how can we 
proclaim that we want to provide justice and protection for anyone 
else?

                              {time}  2030

  May those of us who believe in the uniqueness of human personhood, 
from conception to death, today again resolve never to cease our 
efforts to make our beloved country not only a beacon of hope but a 
sanctuary of human dignity. Surely there can be no higher calling for 
us as public servants of this blessed land.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the distinguished gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, because the end of the hour grows close, I would now 
come before this body with a sunset memorial. We intend to repeat this 
from time to time to chronicle the loss of life by abortion on demand 
in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, it is January 22, 2008, in the land of the free and the 
home of the brave, and before the sun sets today in America, almost 
4,000 more defenseless unborn children were killed by abortion on 
demand just today.
  Exactly 35 years today, the tragic judicial fiat called Roe v. Wade 
was handed down. Since then, the very foundation of this Nation has 
been stained by the blood of almost 50 million children. Mr. Speaker, 
that is more than 16,000 times the number of innocent lives lost on 
September 11.
  Each of the 4,000 children that we lost today had at least four 
things in common. They were each just little babies who had done 
nothing wrong to anyone. And each one of them died a nameless and 
lonely death. And each of their mothers, whether she realizes it 
immediately or not, will never be the same. And all the gifts that 
these children might have brought to humanity are now lost forever.
  Mr. Speaker, those noble heroes lying in frozen silence out in 
Arlington National Cemetery did not die so America could shred her own 
Constitution, as well as her own children, by the millions. It seems 
that we are never quite so eloquent as when we decry the genocidal 
crimes of past generations, those who allowed their courts to strip the 
black man and the Jew of their constitutional personhood, and then 
proceeded to murderously desecrate millions of these, God's own 
children.
  Yet even in the full glare of such tragedy, this generation clings to 
blindness and invincible ignorance while history repeats itself and our 
own genocide mercilessly annihilates the most helpless of all victims 
to date, those yet unborn.
  Perhaps it is important for those of us in this Chamber to remind 
ourselves again of why we are really all here.
  Thomas Jefferson said, ``The care of human life and its happiness and 
not its destruction is the chief and only object of good government.''

[[Page 448]]

  Mr. Speaker, protecting the lives of our innocent citizens and their 
constitutional rights is why we are all here. It is our sworn oath. The 
phrase in the 14th amendment capsulizes our entire Constitution. It 
says: ``No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property 
without due process of law.''
  The bedrock foundation of this Republic is the Declaration, not the 
casual notion, but the Declaration of the self-evident truth that all 
human beings are created equal and endowed by their creator with the 
unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Every 
conflict and battle our Nation has ever faced can be traced to our 
commitment to this core self-evident truth. It has made us the beacon 
of hope for the entire world. It is who we are.
  And yet today, Mr. Speaker, in this body we fail to honor that 
commitment. We fail our sworn oath and our God-given responsibility as 
we broke faith with nearly 4,000 innocent American babies who died 
without the protection we should have been given them.
  And so for them in this moment, Mr. Speaker, without yielding my 
time, I would invite anyone inclined to join me for a moment of silence 
on their behalf.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that this discussion tonight presents this 
Congress and the American people with two destiny questions.
  The first that all of us must ask ourselves is very simple: Does 
abortion really kill a baby? If the answer to that question is ``yes,'' 
there is a second destiny question that inevitably follows. And it is 
this, Mr. Speaker: Will we allow ourselves to be dragged by those who 
have lost their way into a darkness where the light of human compassion 
has gone out and the predatory survival of the fittest prevails over 
humanity? Or will America embrace her destiny to lead the world to 
cherish and honor the God-given miracle of each human life?
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said that every baby comes with a message, 
that God has not yet despaired of mankind. And I mourn that those 4,000 
messages sent to us today will never be heard. Mr. Speaker, I also have 
not yet despaired. Because tonight maybe someone new, maybe even 
someone in this Congress, who heard this sunset memorial will finally 
realize that abortion really does kill a baby, that it hurts mothers 
more than anyone else, and that nearly 50 million dead children in 
America is enough. And that America is great enough to find a better 
way than abortion on demand.
  So tonight, Mr. Speaker, may we each remind ourselves that our own 
days in this sunshine of life are numbered and that all too soon each 
of us will walk from these Chambers for the very last time.
  And if it should be that this Congress is allowed to convene on 
another day yet to come, may that be the day that we hear the cries of 
the unborn at last. May that be the day we find the humanity, the 
courage, and the will to embrace together our human and our 
constitutional duty to protect the least of these, our tiny American 
brothers and sisters, from this murderous scourge upon our Nation 
called abortion on demand.
  This is a sunset memorial, Mr. Speaker. It is January 22, 2008, in 
the land of free and the home of the brave.
  Ms. SHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, thirty-five years ago today, the Supreme 
Court guaranteed American women the right to choose abortion in its 
landmark decision Roe v. Wade. In doing so, the Supreme Court brought 
an end to decades of State and Federal laws that outlawed or restricted 
abortions and put reproductive choice back in the hands of women and 
gave them safe, medical options.
  Since that time, however, a concerted and organized campaign aimed at 
diminishing this momentous decision has succeeded in whittling down the 
original intent of the decision and now presents a very serious threat 
to the long-term security of Roe itself.
  I rise today not only to commemorate this important day in American 
history, but also to remind the supporters of Roe v. Wade that it is 
absolutely critical that the pro-choice movement remain united and 
vigilant against all attempts to take away a woman's right to choose. 
As a member of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I promise to do my part and 
continue to oppose any attempts in Congress to limit, restrict or deny 
a woman's reproductive rights.
  In conclusion, I believe that it is imperative, not only for women's 
rights, but for women's health as well, that the United States not 
return to an era in which the government gets to decide what a woman 
can and cannot do with her own body.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commemorate the 35th 
Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a United States Supreme Court decision that 
broadened women's rights nationwide.
  On January 22, 1973, three years after ``Jane Roe'' was denied an 
abortion in a Texas district court, the Supreme Court decided that the 
Fourteenth Amendment right of personal privacy was broad enough to 
cover a woman's decision whether to terminate her pregnancy. The Texas 
statute proscribed all abortions not necessary ``for the purpose of 
saving the life of the mother.'' ``Jane Roe'', or Norma McCorvey, 
desired an abortion because she was raped; however, her rights were 
firmly denied in the Texas courts. Her case made it to the Supreme 
Court by way of an appeal in 1971. The case was argued twice before the 
Supreme Court because Associate Justice William Rehnquist initially 
missed part of the arguments. After great debate and deliberation, the 
Supreme Court struck down the Texas statute as unconstitutional. The 
decision was made in favor of Roe by a vote of 7 to 2, with Justices 
William Rehnquist and Byron White dissenting. Justice Harry Blackmun 
wrote the opinion of the court declaring that it is a woman's 
constitutional right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term. 
The court ordered that the performance of an abortion should not be 
criminalized and also ordered that access to an abortion should not be 
restricted, limited or unnecessarily difficult.
  The 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade is a momentous occasion because 
it symbolizes the notion of liberty and justice for all people under 
the constitution. Women have historically been deprived of equal rights 
and liberty, but this court decision brought a new day for all women. I 
respectfully commemorate the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

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