[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 5997]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        BEWARE THE ARROGANCE OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HUELSKAMP. Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you about a brave lady 
named Ellie, whom I met a few years ago in Kansas. This is her story.
  One Tuesday morning, back in 1973, she opened up her local newspaper 
to read about a U.S. Supreme Court decision that shocked her, outraged 
her, and saddened her. She questioned how a small group of unelected 
judges could reach such a tragic and illegitimate decision in the name 
of constitutional rights.
  That case was the fateful Roe v. Wade decision that mandated abortion 
on demand throughout all 50 States for all 9 months of pregnancy. In 
response to the Court's ruling, Ellie rushed out to the nearest 
abortion clinic.
  Expecting other outraged Kansans to already be there, Ellie found 
herself alone. No one else was there. It seemed that the Supreme Court, 
in far-off Washington, had imposed its radical decision on Ellie and an 
entire Nation without anyone noticing, few caring, and no one 
responding about the lives of the unborn.
  As history does report, that seemingly deafening silence didn't stay 
that way. Soon, Ellie was joined by others, many others. Contrary to 
the expectations of the elite lawyers on the Supreme Court, their 
decision did not short-circuit or end the debate over abortion; rather, 
over the following years, it ignited the debate.
  While the Court still stubbornly clings to the ruling, science has 
exposed its folly. Legal scholars recognize its defects. Most 
importantly, public opinion, from the young to the old, has passed them 
by. Today, an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose an overwhelming 
percentage of all abortions.
  Today, the Supreme Court may be tempted to repeat that same mistake. 
They may be emboldened to impose again a so-called 50-State solution on 
the entire Nation. By radically attempting to redefine marriage for 
Ellie and the entire country by invalidating centuries of marriage laws 
and by silencing the more than 50 million Americans--that is 50 million 
Americans--who have voted to protect marriage as between one man and 
one woman, this court would, once again, be repeating their arrogant 
mistake of misreading both the American public and our American 
Constitution.
  Unlike 1973, I believe that Americans are already beginning to engage 
on this issue. This time, Ellie will not be alone. If this Supreme 
Court attempts to shred again another foundational aspect of our 
society, there will be a strong, quick, and ferocious response, for a 
small group of lawyers should not impose their redefinition of marriage 
on every single American State, every single American citizen, every 
single American family, and every single American church and synagogue.
  Therefore, I implore this Court to learn from the Roe v. Wade 
mistake, do its job, read and obey the Constitution, and correctly 
affirm that Ellie and the citizens of every one of our united States 
are free to affirm or restore marriage as the union of one man and one 
woman.

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