[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15136-15137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LAURA WEGMANN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MARK E. SOUDER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 15, 2008

  Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, today I rise to commend Laura Wegmann of 
Woodburn, Indiana. Laura won the 2008 Indiana Right to Life Oratory 
Contest and recently participated in the national finals held in 
Washington, DC.
  Laura is a terrific role model for young adults in Indiana. She has 
excelled both in school and various extracurricular activities. I am 
especially proud that she has joined me and millions across this Nation 
in speaking out against the heinous practice of abortion and physician 
assisted suicide. Her speech is a testament to the value of human life 
and I ask that it be submitted into the Record.


      laura wegmann's indiana right to life oratory contest speech

       In the climactic scene of the movie, ``Judgment at 
     Nuremberg,'' set in post Nazi Germany, Chief Justice Daniel 
     Haywood, of the American Tribunal, delivers the sentence of 
     four Nazi leaders. The men on trial were accused of 
     consigning millions of innocent lives to the infamous gas-
     chambers of Auschwitz. After the tribunal's deliberation, 
     Judge Haywood ardently declared: ``Before the people of the 
     world, let it now be noted--that here in our decision, this 
     is what we stand for: justice, truth and the value of a 
     single human being.''
       Judge Haywood's conclusion was neither new nor radical. It 
     was, rather, an affirmation of the fundamental principle that 
     all individuals possess inherent worth and dignity, simply by 
     virtue of being human. This was the very principle which the 
     German people failed to uphold and it is the same principle 
     that has come under attack today, by those in support of 
     physician assisted suicide.
       If legalized federally, as it is in the State of Oregon, 
     this act threatens to become one of the most fraudulent 
     perversions of justice legitimized in the wake of Roe. v. 
     Wade. The Supreme Court's decision on abortion stated: ``Only 
     viable human beings who have the capability for meaningful 
     life may, but need not, be protected by the state.'' It is 
     just as Francis Schaefer warned: ``Will a society which has 
     assumed the right to kill infants in the womb--because they 
     are unwanted, imperfect, or merely inconvenient--have 
     difficulty in assuming the right to kill other human beings . 
     . .?'' No. This is where abortion on demand has brought us. 
     Once our Nation swallowed the lethal pill of choice, anything 
     and everything became acceptable.
       Proponents of the right to die movement have lost all 
     respect for human life. To many of these advocates, Physician 
     assisted suicide is, in the words of Derrick Humphry, Hemlock 
     Society's co-founder, the ``ultimate civil liberty.'' They 
     contend that individual autonomy and quality of life 
     supersede all other considerations. As one of their 
     proponents, Carol Ferry argued: ``The idea that human life is 
     sacred no matter the condition or the desire of the person, 
     seems to me irrational''
       This same spirit fueled the Nazi madness. In 1941, German 
     officials removed thousands of disabled children from their 
     families. Among the innocent was a young boy afflicted with 
     Down Syndrome. He was sent to the crematorium because his 
     condition was thought burdensome to society. This little one 
     was Pope Benedict's young cousin.
       Today's cries for individual autonomy and quality of life 
     are twisted both in their use of language and in their 
     treatment of humanity. They deny the very words which have 
     been declared self-evident, secure, instituted among men and 
     understood to be unalienable, that is, ``. . . 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.'' We are not mere 
     machines, that if broken, should be discarded. Nor are we 
     animals that if found suffering may be killed. We are human 
     beings created in the image of God and therefore worthy of 
     the utmost respect, love and protection.
       How then, should we contend with this Industry of Death? 
     First we must address the proper role of medicine. Many 
     advancements have been made in the area of palliative care. 
     Palliative care, takes its meaning from the Latin: pulliave, 
     to cover. It is a form of specialized care that concentrates 
     efforts in reducing pain, stress and the severity of 
     symptoms.
       We must never allow society to lose sight of the fact that 
     doctors are healers, and when they can no longer heal, their 
     role is to comfort. We must exhort the medical community to 
     uphold the classic Hippocratic Oath which states: ``I will 
     neither give a deadly drug . . . nor will I make [any] 
     suggestion to this effect.'' To accept killing as a medical 
     procedure would grant unprecedented power to the medical 
     community. Such acceptance would ultimately lead to abuse. 
     Let us not forget, that America is an aging society. It is 
     estimated that in a few short years over 71 million Americans 
     will be 65 years and older. Cost cutting agendas combined 
     with dwindling resources would inevitably lead HMO's and 
     other healthcare providers to perceive mercy killing as a 
     form of cost control.
       Finally, we must do everything in our power to shake this 
     Nation from its ethical stupor. Our message of hope and truth 
     must fill the sanctuaries, echo in the classroom, and ring in 
     the ears of our elected officials. We must flood our 
     libraries with well written books and publications exposing 
     this wretched Industry of Death. We, the Pro Life community, 
     must define for society our firmly set principles. We must 
     affirm, to those who would be robbed, we will overcome this 
     present evil. We too must ardently declare as Justice Haywood 
     did: ``Before the people of the world, let it now be noted . 
     . . this is what we stand for: justice, truth and the value 
     of a single human being.''

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