[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11433-11434]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       ABORTION RIGHTS FOR THE WOMEN OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

  (Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, my request to testify was summarily refused 
on a bill to be marked up tomorrow to deny only women in my district, 
the District of Columbia, the right to an abortion after 20 weeks of 
pregnancy as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. So I testify for 1 minute 
today.
  Trent Franks, the chairman and sponsor of H.R. 3803 must have thought 
that one unfairness deserves another. The bill is of a piece with 
Republican attacks all year--to deny contraceptives in health 
insurance, and to defund Planned Parenthood.
  The bill is unprincipled, or it would not apply only to the District 
of Columbia. Its bogus science is matched by the absence of a need. 
Recent figures show almost three-quarters of abortions in the District 
occurred under 10

[[Page 11434]]

weeks of pregnancy, only one past 21 weeks.

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