[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 590]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             RIGHT TO LIFE

  (Mr. LANKFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Speaker, this week the congressional conversation 
is on spending, the national debt, and rightfully so. The budget work 
in the past 3 years has only made a dent in the looming debt crisis in 
our future, but America's story is about more than budget and spending. 
America is about its people, their opportunity and hope and dream for a 
better future for all of our children.
  A few months ago, the March of Dimes released its scorecard for 
premature birth rates in Oklahoma. We lowered our preterm birth rate 
for the third year in a row in Oklahoma. That is good. Every child is a 
gift of God, and they should have a chance to live to his or her 
fullest potential. We all know that a baby in the womb is not tissue; 
that is a child. A child that should have the same opportunity, the 
same chance for hope, the same dreams for a better future. That dream 
begins with the opportunity for life.
  How can we as a Nation work so hard to prevent premature births so 
each child can reach their full potential and then be callous to the 
reality that some children will never have the chance to even be born? 
That is why Americans will stand on the National Mall for the March for 
Life January 22. We are Americans. We believe in the inherent right to 
life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. That right extends to all 
people, regardless of their size.

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