[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12335]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              DAWN JOHNSEN

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the President's nominee to head the Justice 
Department's Office of Legal Counsel is truly from the radical fringe, 
which is why her confirmation is running into so much trouble in the 
Senate.
  That person is Dawn Johnsen, a former attorney for one of the 
Nation's largest and most radical abortion groups. Ms. Johnsen's own 
quotes speak for her radical views. She equated pregnancy to slavery. 
She said that laws restricting a woman's ``abortion choice are 
disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude.'' She's likened 
pregnant mothers to ``no more than fetal containers.'' And she claims 
that abortion is ``a relief'' rather than the traumatic experience it 
truly is for women.
  Her appointment is a slap in the face to fair-minded Americans. And 
now Senator Reid has indicated he does not have the votes to bring her 
nomination to the Senate floor. The President should take a cue from 
the Senate and withdraw this mistaken nomination, a nomination that 
runs counter to the values of the American people.

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