[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2097]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, as Yogi Berra once said, ``It's deja vu all 
over again.''
  How many times can we have the same argument?
  Forty-one years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed a woman's 
constitutional right to choose. Yet, four decades later, this Chamber 
will vote yet again to rob women of their right to control their own 
bodies.
  Today, the Hyde amendment prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to 
pay for abortion services. While I oppose this restriction, it is 
important to emphasize that this statute is already the law. It was 
passed in 1976. Yet the legislation we are considering today would take 
that restriction even further.
  My friends on the other side of the aisle are no longer content with 
simply banning Federal funding for abortions. Now even private funding 
for this constitutional right is up for debate. A vote in favor of this 
bill will authorize for the first time penalties for private insurance 
companies that offer plans that cover abortion services. Let me say 
that again. This bill will allow the Federal Government to use tax 
policy to punish private companies that even offer coverage for 
abortion as part of their insurance plans.
  And the penalties don't stop at insurance companies. This bill also 
goes after consumers, penalizing those who choose insurance plans in 
the Federal exchange that include coverage for abortion services by 
removing their eligibility for income-based subsidies.
  Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy is staggering.
  Every day on the floor, my colleagues lecture about their mission to 
keep the Federal Government out of the daily lives of the American 
people, but apparently those principles don't extend to a doctor's 
office or to the most private and intimate choices a woman can make 
about her own body. A woman who makes the choice to end her pregnancy 
should not have her motives questioned. It is a choice no one wants to 
make, but the unfortunate reality is that many people have to. If my 
colleagues are looking to end abortion, let's take actions that will 
actually reduce the number of abortions instead of making policies that 
embarrass and demonize women.
  Here are a few suggestions:
  Let's invest in family planning programs that help men and women have 
more control over when and how they start their families; let's support 
comprehensive sex education so that teenagers know how to be safe and 
prevent unintended pregnancies; let's make adoption easier for loving 
families so that no child is left spending his entire youth as a ward 
of the State.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that many of us will never agree on the very 
personal and emotional issue of abortion, but instead of rehashing the 
same fights, let's focus on things we can agree on. Let's reconsider 
the definition of ``pro-life'' to include efforts that improve the 
quality of life for people in America. Being pro-life should mean 
supporting programs like Head Start and school lunches, which help our 
young people succeed. Being pro-life should mean supporting investments 
in job training programs to help people find well-paying jobs so they 
can provide for their families. Being pro-life should mean supporting a 
raise in the minimum wage so a single mother who is working 40 hours a 
week isn't living below the poverty line. Being pro-life should mean 
supporting SNAP benefits so that working families don't have to choose 
between feeding their children and paying their rent.
  The list of things this Congress can do to support the lives of 
Americans whom we represent is endless. It is a shame we waste so much 
time having the same old arguments. I am afraid we have lost sight of 
what our constituents sent us here to do. Let's stop attacking women's 
health, and instead let's focus on making investments in our future 
that will help Americans realize their full potential and live the 
American Dream.

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