[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15335-15341]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         PROTECTING THE UNBORN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Garrett). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the House of 
Representatives will vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection 
Act, and before that occurs, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to come to the floor 
tonight and just remind all of us that the United States of

[[Page 15336]]

America is, indeed, a unique nation that is premised on the foundation 
that we are all created equal and that each of us is endowed by our 
creator with the unalienable right to live.
  But 2 years ago, Mr. Speaker, numerous video recordings were released 
that incontrovertibly documented corporate officers and employees of 
Planned Parenthood casually discussing their rampant practice of 
harvesting and selling the little body parts from many of the hundreds 
of thousands of innocent babies they are guilty of killing in their 
abortion clinics across this Nation every year.

                              {time}  1930

  Now, these videos irrefutably reveal officers of Planned Parenthood 
haggling over the price of these little organs and body parts and 
casually describing ways of killing these little babies, often using 
much more painful methods, like partial-birth abortion, to make sure 
that the saleable organs of these little babies remained undamaged.
  One of these videos described an incident where one of Planned 
Parenthood's employees calls one of the younger employees over to 
witness something that was ``kind of cool;'' that one of those baby's 
hearts was still beating. The older employee said: ``Okay. This is 
really a good fetus, and it looks like we can procure a lot from it. We 
are going to procure a brain.''
  Then, using scissors, together the two employees, starting at the 
baby's chin, cut upward through the center of this child's face and 
then pulled out the baby's little brain and placed it in a container 
where it could later be sold.
  Mr. Speaker, I find it so crushingly sad that the only time this 
little baby was ever held by anyone in his very short life was by those 
who cut his face open to take his brain.
  Have we forgotten that, not so long ago, authorities entered the 
clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, and there they found a torture chamber 
for little babies that defies, within the constraints of the English 
language, any description. The grand jury, at that time, reported: 
``Dr. Kermit Gosnell had a simple solution for unwanted babies. He 
killed them. He didn't call it that. He called it ensuring fetal 
demise. The way he ensured fetal demise was by sticking scissors in the 
back of the baby's neck and cutting the spinal cord. He called it 
snipping. Over the years, there were hundreds of snippings.''
  Ashley Baldwin, one of Dr. Gosnell's employees, said she saw babies 
breathing, and she described one as 2 feet long, that no longer had 
eyes or a mouth, but were, in her words, making like, this ``screeching 
noise.'' And she said it ``sounded like a little alien.''
  For God's sake, Mr. Speaker, this can't be who we truly are. The fact 
is that more than 18,000 late-term, pain-capable, unborn children were 
torturously killed, without anesthesia, in America in just the last 
year. Many of them cried and screamed as they died, but because it was 
amniotic fluid going over the vocal cords, we couldn't hear them. It is 
the worst human rights atrocity in the United States of America.
  Now, I know that many of those on this floor and the American media 
will hold to the standard line and try to cloak all of this in the name 
of freedom of choice; but I would beg them, Mr. Speaker, to open their 
hearts and ask themselves what is so liberating about brutally and 
painfully dismembering living, helpless little human babies.
  In spite of all the political noise, protecting these little, 
helpless, pain-capable, unborn children and their mothers is not a 
Republican issue, and it is not a Democrat issue. It is a basic test of 
our basic humanity and who we are as a human family.
  Mr. Speaker, the sands of time should blow over this Capitol dome 
before we ever give Planned Parenthood one more dime of taxpayer money. 
And in the name of humanity, Democrat Senators should not be allowed to 
filibuster the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the Senate 
because passing it would prevent the vast majority of these ongoing 
evil acts of torture against helpless, little, pain-capable human 
babies that these videos have now shown so clearly to the entire world.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), 
one of the greatest pro-life champions in the history of the United 
States and a precious friend.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for 
yielding, for his passion, for his courage, and for authoring the Pain-
Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and for doing so so informed. 
Trent Franks has been an incredible defender of life, and I want to 
thank him for his leadership on this extraordinarily important human 
rights piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, overwhelming majorities of Americans, some 60 to 64 
percent, according to the pollsters, support legal protection for pain-
capable unborn children.
  Today, we know that unborn babies not only die but suffer 
excruciating pain during dismemberment abortions, a cruelty that rips 
arms and legs off of helpless children.
  A former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, testified before 
Congress, before Trent Franks' committee. Here is a man who has 
performed 1,200 abortions, over 100 late-term abortions up to 24 weeks; 
and he said, and I quote in part: ``Imagine if you can that you are a 
pro-choice obstetrician/gynecologist like I was.'' Using a sopher 13 
clamp with rows of ridges or teeth, ``grasp anything you can'' inside 
the womb. ``Once you've grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp 
to set the jaws and pull hard, really hard. You feel something let go 
and out pops a fully formed leg about 6 inches long. Reach in again''--
he goes on--``and grasp anything you can and out pops an arm.''
  He noted that a ``second trimester D&E abortion is a blind 
procedure.'' So he says: ``Reach in again and again and again with that 
clamp and tear out the spine, intestines, heart, and lungs.''
  Mr. Speaker, even swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his dissent 
in the Stenberg v. Carhart decision, said about dismemberment 
abortions: ``The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or 
child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn limb from limb. The fetus 
can be alive at the beginning of the dismemberment process and can 
survive for a time while its limbs are being torn off.''
  Mr. Speaker, even if pain wasn't present, dismembering a child is 
violence against children, and it is inhumane. But these babies 
actually suffer in this process.
  Dr. Robert White, professor of neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve, 
has said an unborn child at 20 weeks' gestation ``is fully capable of 
experiencing pain . . . without question, abortion is a dreadfully 
painful experience. . . .''
  Dr. Anand wrote, and he is an expert on pain: ``The human fetus 
possesses the ability to experience pain from 20 weeks' gestation. . . 
.'' He points out that it is even worse for an unborn child at that 
time period because ``the highest density of pain receptors per square 
inch of skin in human development occurs in utero from 20 to 30 weeks' 
gestation. Thus, a fetus at 20 to 32 weeks' gestation would experience 
a much more intense pain than older infants or children or adults.'' We 
have known this for some time, Mr. Speaker.
  In 2006, I authored the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act that garnered 
250 votes in favor--including 40 Democrats--to 162 against. I remember 
thinking on that day of the vote: How can anyone refuse to make child 
pain information part of an informed consent?
  Congressman Trent Franks has authored four--count them, four--
extraordinarily important human rights bills over the years to actually 
protect pain-capable babies in Federal law from the violence of 
abortion, including the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that 
passed the House in 2013 and again in 2015. Tragically, President Obama 
vowed to veto this child protection legislation, and the Senate failed 
to pass it.
  However, this year, we have a President who said, and he put out a 
Statement of Administration Policy: You

[[Page 15337]]

present this legislation to me, and I will sign it.
  Finally, not only will babies be protected by Trent Franks' law at 5 
months, and the pain suffered by these babies will be averted, but H.R. 
36 requires that a late abortion, permitted under very limited 
circumstances, provide ``the best opportunity for the unborn child to 
survive'' and that ``a second physician trained in neonatal 
resuscitation'' be ``present and prepared to provide care to the 
child'' to the same degree as the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 
2002 prescribed.
  Following the care required to be rendered, the born-alive child 
shall immediately be transported and admitted to a hospital.
  Sixteen States have passed legislation that resembles this important 
legislation that we will have before us on this House floor.
  My good friend and colleague talked about Dr. Gosnell. Four years 
ago, Dr. Gosnell was convicted of murder, conspiracy to kill, and 
involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
  Even though the news of Gosnell's child slaughter was largely 
suppressed by the mainstream media, many of my colleagues may remember 
that Gosnell operated a large Philadelphia abortion clinic where women 
died and countless babies were dismembered, all gruesome procedures 
causing excruciating pain to the victim.
  This is a humane bill, a major human rights bill, and, again, I want 
to thank my great friend and colleague for his leadership. It is 
extraordinary.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).
  Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my dear friend and 
colleague, Mr. Trent Franks, who is certainly a champion of our time in 
standing up for life, for our national defense, and has a heart so big 
that comes through in everything he does. And certainly, tonight, I 
think we see the gentleman's heart for unborn children, certainly at 
the beginning of 6 months of age, who deserve to live.
  The gentleman's bill, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, 
also known as Micah's Law, will do that, and I urge all of my 
colleagues to support it tomorrow.
  But tonight, Mr. Speaker, I want to share with you a heartwarming 
story that puts a face to what we are talking about. It is one thing to 
say 20 weeks old, a baby, unborn baby, but it is another thing to look 
at the picture of Micah Pickering--and his picture is up there, as well 
as up front.
  Micah Pickering was born at 20 weeks' gestation. He was born at the 
age of which we are talking about that you are trying to say we should 
not allow for abortions at this stage because they can live, and Micah 
is a living example of that.
  You know, I want to share a little bit about what his mother shared 
about his story, with Micah, her son. His mother's name is Danielle, 
and she recalled that when Micah was born, he cried twice immediately, 
and that was music to her ears and contrary to the worst case scenarios 
for which Micah's parents were bracing.
  This is what Danielle talked about during those first few moments. 
She said: ``The second I was able to meet Micah changed my life. He was 
so small. I didn't know what to expect. Would he look normal? Could I 
bond with this baby? Those questions were a mess in my head as I was 
wheeled into his room 2 hours after his birth. The sight I saw was a 
perfectly formed baby.'' At 20 weeks, at the beginning of 6 months, she 
says he was a perfectly formed baby.
  ``Lots of tubes and monitors all set up to be an artificial womb to 
this baby born too soon. My husband and I stood there just staring at 
this beautiful little boy who we were told we couldn't hold, as the 
skin was so sensitive it would hurt him. We were told we could press 
lightly on the skin, so we each put our hand near him.
  ``He''--the baby, Micah--``reached up and held our fingers. This was 
the strongest grasp I would ever feel. I never knew how strong a baby 
was until that moment. He had a powerful grip on our hands and now''--
has a powerful grip on--``our hearts.''
  This little miracle baby spent 4 months in intensive care. He 
underwent heart surgery 2 weeks after birth, weighing a little over a 
pound. He was on a ventilator for a while. He was on morphine to ease 
the pain, and this was the size of the diaper that he wore.

                              {time}  1945

  Isn't that incredible?
  But he wore a diaper that size, and this little preemie, when he was 
born, he was the size of an M&M package. It is hard to believe that a 
baby could be that small and live, but that is about the size of a baby 
at this age, 20 weeks old, the beginning of 6 months, and he lived. His 
name is Micah. Now he is a healthy, energetic kindergarten student.
  Micah's story is beautiful. It is a miracle. And we thank God for 
Micah's fighting spirit, for his parents' unwavering love for their 
son, and for the team of doctors, nurses, surgeons, and medical 
professionals who tended to Micah during those first few months.
  But the point about Micah is he puts a face on this that, from the 
moment of conception to the birth of a child, the growth and 
development of the baby is miraculous. With advances in medical 
science, we can better understand what is happening at each stage of 
development.
  When these little babies are just 4 weeks old, the basics of their 
nervous system are developed. By 8 weeks after fertilization, the 
unborn child reacts to touch. After 20 weeks, and that is the age of 
the gentleman's bill, the unborn child reacts to stimuli that would be 
recognized as painful if applied to an adult human, for example, by 
recoiling.
  We know that by the 20th week, the beginning of the sixth month, 
unborn babies, children the same age as Micah when he was born, respond 
to painful stimuli by flinching and jerking, just like you and I would 
if we were burned or hurt in some way.
  Micah's parents were told that they could not hold their little son, 
that it would be too painful for the newborn. But babies at this stage 
are actually hyperresponsive to pain since the neurological features 
that inhibit or regulate pain sensations do not develop until much 
later in pregnancy.
  Certainly, these babies should not undergo this pain and, certainly, 
not have to have their life snuffed out through abortion. When a mother 
and her unborn baby undergo a surgical procedure, doctors give fetal 
pain medication, or fetal anesthesia to the baby so that he or she does 
not feel the procedure. This is common practice. It is common sense.
  The legislation before the House tomorrow will ensure that unborn 
children are not subjected to the excruciating pain of being euthanized 
in the womb. And this is where I wish the story could end, that all 
children be given a fighting chance like Micah. But that is not the 
case for too many children whose lives are taken from them before they 
can take their first breath.
  Late-term abortion procedures, abortions performed on babies 20 weeks 
and later in pregnancies, are graphic, detestable, and, tragically, 
allowed in this country.
  In a dissent opinion that Representative Smith just shared, and I 
want to share it again, Justice Kennedy offered the insight into this 
grizzly practice. He said: ``The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a 
human adult or born child would: it bleeds to death as it is torn limb 
from limb.''
  Aborted, unborn babies endure unspeakable pain in the most horrific 
manner possible. Knowing that innocent 20-week babies acutely 
experience pain and endure inhuman dismemberment or poisoning should be 
enough to pierce each of our hearts and prick our sensibilities.
  Micah's Law, the legislation that would protect the lives of unborn 
children halfway through pregnancy because of their ability to feel 
pain, is our call to action.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to leave you with the words of 
Micah's mom as she watched her tiny infant grow into the child he is 
today, and it speaks to the potential of every one of these children 
that we hope from now on will have a chance to live like

[[Page 15338]]

Micah. She said: ``He still had his eyes fused shut. You could see his 
chest vibrate from the ventilators. It was heartbreaking. Here was a 
boy who we would see get to take his first sneeze, his first smile. We 
would get to see the hiccups from the outside. We would watch his eyes 
slowly unfuse. We would watch his hair grow in and we would watch his 
body develop. It was indescribably the most joyful time of our life.''
  So as we anticipate tomorrow's historic vote, I ask my colleagues to 
lend their support for Micah and thousands of children just like him 
who want to live, who want to experience life, and who have so much to 
give.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson.)
  I am very grateful that you are here tonight, sir.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressmen Franks, 
Smith, Hartzler, King, and all of the others, all of my colleagues who 
have spent so many years working for the sanctity of every human life 
in this Chamber. For nearly 20 years, I have been working to defend the 
sanctity of every human life in the courts, and that brings us here 
today.
  You and I have talked about this many times that it is our Nation's 
birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence, which states so 
succinctly what has been known as the American creed. And in that 
creed, as articulated in the second paragraph of the Declaration--we 
know the language well--``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that 
all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with 
certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness.''
  The reason the Founders recognized that fundamental freedom, the 
right to life, and recognized it first is because it is so essential to 
who we are as human beings. The reason the Founders recognized that and 
sought to put it first is because they understood, they acknowledged, 
that we are made in the image of a Holy God. We are made in the image 
of that creator who gave us those rights. And because of that, every 
single human life has inestimable dignity and value.
  And are values not related in any way to our socioeconomic status, 
the color of our skin, where we went to school, what we make for a 
living, what we can contribute to society, our talents, how good-
looking we are--totally irrelevant. Our value is inherent because it is 
given to us by our creator.
  So tomorrow, because of your hard work, we have a landmark 
opportunity with the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. I am 
proud to stand in support of that bill and to assist as a cosponsor and 
to encourage all of our colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  Why do we do this? Because, as has been mentioned, at 20 weeks' 
gestation, a baby is developed enough to live and grow outside the 
womb, and at 20 weeks, a baby can feel pain. Yet, in the United States, 
we remain one of only seven nations on the planet--including North 
Korea and China, I might add--that allows abortions after 20 weeks. It 
is a practice that kills thousands of innocent babies each year, as we 
know.
  A law that allows someone to end the life of an unborn baby when that 
child can live outside the womb and feel the pain inflicted by this 
violent procedure is simply unconscionable. These procedures can be 
fatal not only for the child, by the way, but for the mother, as well, 
because abortion performed later in the pregnancy puts the mother at 
greater risk.
  We have to pass this bill to ensure that America leads in the fight 
to protect the most vulnerable among us. All life is precious, and this 
bill protects the life of the mother and that of the unborn child.
  For those reasons, I urge my colleagues to stand with us in support 
of this important legislation and to join us in the efforts to defend 
the defenseless.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I so sincerely thank the 
gentleman.
  I yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King), my precious friend.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for 
yielding to me, and I appreciate the years that we have sat elbow to 
elbow on the Judiciary Committee and on the Constitution and Civil 
Justice Subcommittee and have done the battle for life. What I am 
reflecting here, tonight, is the sequence of pro-life leaders that I 
have had the privilege to walk these floors and halls with.
  When Trent Franks and I arrived at this Congress, Henry Hyde had the 
lead, and he did so many glorious things to lay the foundation for life 
now. Chris Smith was there at his side the full time that I was here, 
and then Joe Pitts.
  I want to remember Joe Pitts, as well, and Trent Franks. So I put 
those four gentlemen in a category of the leaders in this movement here 
on the floor of the House of Representatives. I remain counting those 
moments precious that I have to serve and work on this cause with each 
of you.
  This bill that we will bring to the floor tomorrow on a rules vote 
and a final passage vote will pass this floor of the House of 
Representatives--I have every confidence that it will--and it will be 
messaged over to the Senate. There is a lot of work that has been put 
into this, the 16 States that have passed the legislation that is 
similar to H.R. 36, Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
  I just add that, when Mr. Johnson mentioned the seven countries that 
allow for an elective abortion after 20 weeks, of course, the United 
States; the other six--he mentioned a couple of them--North Korea, 
China, which will impose forceable abortions on mothers, that cruel and 
heinous activity, Vietnam, Singapore, Netherlands, and Canada. I think 
Canada might have been affected with the United States along the way. 
The Netherlands is one of the more liberal countries in the world.
  And this list is not a list that I want the United States of America 
on. I want us out. I want to be able to send this message that a baby 
who has a chance at survival at 20 weeks of development from 
conception, that at 20 weeks, that precious little baby that Vicky 
Hartzler so well described in her presentation here, 65 percent of 
premature babies born in the range of 22 to 26 weeks will survive--65 
percent.
  We all know one or two of those little babies who are walking around. 
I ran into a friend after church a couple of weeks ago at the grocery 
store who I hadn't seen in several years, and I asked him how his son 
was doing.
  And I am not going to use names here on purpose.
  I asked him how his son was doing. He said: Oh, he is doing fine. He 
is 30 years old now. He has got a great job out there. He has got a 
family. I have got grandchildren.
  All things were wonderful. He knew why I asked him, because we were 
doing a job that he was on back then when that little premature boy was 
born 21 or 22 weeks old. When he came back from 2 weeks of sitting next 
to that child where he could come back home again and go to work 
because he now had a good chance that that little boy would be able to 
survive, I said: We will spend all kinds of money, won't we? We will do 
anything. We will go to any length to keep a child alive who is born 
premature.
  A child that is born at 20 weeks, 21 weeks, 22, 23, 24, 26 weeks, 
there is no expense that we will spare ourselves from because that 
life, we know, is so precious.
  Well, the life in the womb is as precious as the life out of the 
womb, and the pain that that child feels at 20 weeks, 22 weeks, 24 
weeks. But this little boy--he remembered what I said to him that day. 
I said: You are doing everything to save this little child's life, but 
when you go into the polls and vote, you are going to vote on the other 
side of that issue like you always have.
  And he called me a name that day, kind of like the President did some 
of the NFL players, but he remembered exactly what I had said to him 
30-some years ago. And he said: You know, you really straightened me 
out that day--because I gave him my remarks on that.

[[Page 15339]]

  Now, that is a change in heart and a change in minds. America has 
undergone a change in heart and a change in minds. In fact, I stepped 
into a member of my staff's office here just last Friday, and the frame 
of the ultrasound of his firstborn is there, and it has been there for 
9 years beside his desk. That little child, that little child they 
first bonded with him by looking at the ultrasound.
  That little child, by the way, is my godson.
  So each one of these lives are so utterly precious, and we are not 
going to stop. We are going to defend every life we can. We are going 
to protect every life we can. We are going to do the right thing that 
we can for the babies that we can save. Meanwhile, this goes on the 
conscience of America when we fall short.
  But we are going to fall short tomorrow. We are going to succeed. We 
are going to find a way to move this legislation and others through the 
House and through the Senate to a President's desk who will sign that 
legislation.
  When we contemplate the litigation that is bound to take place--
because there are people that are dug in deeply on promoting and 
defending abortion--we are going to have a new Supreme Court. One more 
appointment to that Court and we will get this past them, and a number 
of other pieces of legislation as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for his attention, 
his years of work on this very precious cause, and all of the rest who 
have done so much to step up and defend these lives. I am looking 
forward to tomorrow. There should be a great shout of joy coming off 
the floor of the House of Representatives.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Biggs), my very good friend.
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I express my gratitude and thanks to my 
colleague and good friend, Trent Franks, for yielding and for his 
leadership and tireless work on behalf of the unborn.
  Congressman Franks' fight to save each and every life is one that we 
should all be championing, and I am proud and pleased to be standing by 
his side today. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to fight 
for the unborn in venues around the world at various multilateral 
institutions standing on behalf of the unborn.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud cosponsor in support of H.R. 36, 
the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. If signed into law, this 
legislation will prohibit abortions starting at 20 weeks, almost 5 
months, in all 50 States.
  The pro-abortion lobby will tell you to disregard the rights of 
unborn children, but science shows that they are just as human as you 
and I. In fact, emerging science has proven that babies feel pain 
inside the womb as early as 20 weeks old.
  In cases of fetal surgeries occurring after the 20-week mark, 
anesthesia is regularly administered to the fetus to protect against 
fetal pain. Doctors have also experienced babies born prematurely at or 
near 20 weeks who experience pain in the same way that a full-term baby 
or an adult would.
  It is inhumane to subject these innocent beings to that gruesome 
practice of abortion, knowing full well that they will feel every 
painful moment.

                              {time}  2000

  Mr. Speaker, I think about my own children and how excited my wife 
and I were throughout her pregnancies. Even without today's developed 
science, we knew that our children were special, that they were alive, 
that they were helpless, and that we had the responsibility for their 
safety and well-being in the womb. We never would have intentionally 
caused pain or harm to any of our unborn children.
  But by allowing this practice to continue, we are not only torturing 
these helpless babies who will be dismembered limb by limb, we are also 
ending their lives. They will never realize their God-given potential 
on this Earth. They will never be mothers, wives, husbands, and 
fathers. They will never be siblings. They will never be able to 
fulfill the measure of their creation. Their last memory will be filled 
with great agony and distress.
  Mr. Speaker, there is nothing that we do in Congress that will have 
efficacy if we choose to fail to protect the most innocent among us. 
If, at the very least, we cannot defend those who feel pain, then we 
are unworthy to lead this Nation.
  We have a great responsibility and charge to protect these children, 
and we will not fail them. Please vote ``yes'' tomorrow.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
Jenkins), and I thank him for coming to the floor tonight.
  Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Arizona and all those who have spoken, obviously, so emotionally and so 
passionately about protecting the unborn.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 36. I am a strong 
believer in the sanctity of life. I believe each and every person, born 
and unborn, is a child of God.
  Our children are our future and a gift to all of us, and respecting 
the right to life is one of the strongest values we hold as Americans. 
That is why I come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to support 
the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would stop late-
term abortions.
  Studies have shown that unborn children can feel pain in the womb 20 
weeks after pregnancy, an agonizing fact with disturbing indications 
that we know that this is a gruesome act against the unborn.
  As a proud father of three, we know, when those babies come into this 
world, that their cries are cries of joy; it is a cry of life. That is 
what we are protecting. No child of God should be subjected to the 
torturous pain that comes as a result of a late-term abortion.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear that my constituents sent me to Washington 
to promote a culture and respect for life. They know as well as I do 
that it is vital for us to fight for those who have no voice and cannot 
be heard.
  This bill shows the world that America will stand up to protect the 
most vulnerable amongst us. I strongly urge my colleagues to support 
the passage of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
  Let this Congress and the vote of each and every Member be known as 
the one who stood up for life by speaking out against the horrors of 
abortion.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
remarks.
  It is now my honor to yield to the honorable gentlewoman from South 
Dakota (Mrs. Noem).
  Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for 
his leadership on this piece of legislation, which will, quite 
literally, save lives. I am so grateful that we are having this debate 
on the House floor at this point.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable 
Unborn Child Protection Act. I believe that every life, including an 
unborn baby's life, has dignity and value. But more than 40 years ago, 
the Supreme Court handed down a decision in direct contradiction to 
those principles.
  In the decades since, I have joined with many families and my 
colleagues in the House and many across the Nation fighting to undo the 
damage that has been done. We have got a long way to go in this 
country, but the passage of H.R. 36 would be a step in the right 
direction.
  A strong and growing body of medical research provides evidence that 
pain receptors develop in unborn babies at no later than 20 weeks. 
Medical professionals have testified about seeing babies that age 
recoil from painful stimuli. Others have been able to measure increases 
in stress hormones when babies inside the womb are subjected to pain.
  If fetal surgery is performed, that baby is given anesthesia in many 
cases to shield them from the pain of surgery. Yet our Nation's laws 
allow for these babies to endure the pain of a life-ending abortion. It 
is absolutely heartbreaking.

[[Page 15340]]

  My husband and I knew that our lives had completely changed the 
minute that we heard our oldest daughter's heartbeat. I will never 
forget that moment. I hope that she knows how proud we are of the 
generous and compassionate person that she has grown up to become. She 
has grown up quickly, and I love to think back about those days when 
she was still a little girl and when she wasn't much taller than I.
  We read a lot back then. We read books. We read the Bible. One of her 
favorite books was Dr. Seuss' book, ``Horton Hears a Who!'' which says: 
``A person is a person no matter how small.'' Each time we read that 
line, I thought back to those first moments when I heard her muffled 
heartbeats and thought about Kassidy and thought about ``a person is a 
person no matter how small.''
  I had that blessed moment three different times with my three 
different children, and I pray every day that each and every baby's 
heartbeat would be heard by parents who understand the gift that that 
life is from our God who loves them dearly.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defend the smallest among us 
this week and pass H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection 
Act. I thank the gentleman for his leadership.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I sincerely thank the gentlewoman 
for her remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Norman).
  Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my colleague from 
Arizona's bill, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, as well 
as the rights of the unborn. As a father of 4 children and a 
grandfather to 15 grandchildren, I strongly believe that life begins at 
conception. I wholeheartedly feel that nothing is more precious or 
beautiful than a life. I will do everything in my power to continue to 
advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.
  Since the passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973, nearly 60 million abortions 
have been performed. Mr. Speaker, this is a moral atrocity. I am a 
proud cosponsor of H.R. 36, which would make it illegal to attempt or 
to perform an abortion if an unborn child is 20 weeks or older with 
exceptions. Science has proven that babies are capable of feeling pain 
at the start of the third trimester. It is imperative that we protect 
the lives of the unborn.
  Our Nation was built upon the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit 
of happiness. We guarantee that every American citizen has a right to 
pursue absolute happiness. Our Constitution guarantees that every 
American has the right to liberty and justice.
  Should we, as Americans, not guarantee that every American has a 
right to life as well?
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of 
this bill and the protection of the sanctity of life for all Americans.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very 
sincerely for his remarks. I am glad he came this way here recently.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).
  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend, Trent Franks, 
for yielding to me and for providing the leadership in the pro-life 
movement.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 36, the Pain-
Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. As a proud father of 5 and a 
grandfather of 13, I firmly believe that the value of an unborn life 
cannot be understated.
  H.R. 36 takes a crucial step to ensure that we protect thousands of 
innocent lives every year. Scientific evidence clearly demonstrates 
that unborn babies feel pain by at least 20 weeks of age. By 20 weeks, 
an unborn baby is so developed that he or she can hear and respond to 
sounds.
  Ending these lives through abortion is both cruel and inhumane. There 
is no excuse. Our Nation must do better. We should not be one of only 
seven countries--including North Korea, Vietnam, and China--to have 
elective, on-demand abortion after 20 weeks of development. This is an 
abuse of the basic human rights, and it is unacceptable in the eyes of 
God and by any standard of human morality.
  As Members of Congress, it is our duty and our moral obligation to 
pass H.R. 36 so that we may protect those who are the most defenseless. 
Mr. Speaker, our Declaration of Independence guarantees all Americans 
enjoy the unalienable right of life, and that includes the unborn.
  Thanks to incredible advances in modern medicine, babies born at 20, 
21, and 22 weeks of age are able to survive. Our medical community 
strives to save and protect these premature babies, yet, in an 
inconsistent fashion, current policy permits aborting a child at that 
exact same stage of development.
  Mr. Speaker, the sanctity of every human life must be protected. This 
bill affirms the humanity of the unborn while curbing the inhumanity of 
abortion. God knows that it is time that we hold abortionists who 
perform these late-term abortions accountable for their abhorrent 
actions.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend from 
Texas very much for speaking on the floor tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Banks).
  Mr. BANKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague 
for yielding.
  I, too, rise today in strong support of H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable 
Unborn Child Protection Act. This bill would prohibit any elective 
abortion attempt of an unborn child who is 20 weeks or older, the age 
at which research shows children are able to feel pain.
  I think it is worth noting that this landmark legislation is 
projected to save between 12,000 and 18,000 lives each year. These are 
individuals who will become fathers, mothers, technological innovators, 
servicemembers, and hardworking contributors to our great Nation
  Ten years ago, studies began to emerge proving that an unborn child 
is able to feel pain as early as 20 weeks post-fertilization. So as our 
Nation's understanding of fetal pain has become more advanced, 
protections for pain-capable unborn children have been signed into law 
in 20 States, including my home State of Indiana.
  But that is not enough. Despite claims from many pro-abortion groups, 
late-term abortion is neither safe or, unfortunately, rare. As recently 
as 2014, it was estimated that 430 abortion facilities in the United 
States were willing to perform abortions on unborn children 20 weeks or 
older.
  This sort of late-term abortion--at the point when the child can 
actually feel the procedure--will continue to happen without a Federal 
prohibition. Sixty percent of women, 56 percent of Independents, and 46 
percent of Democrats support this sort of legislation. It has broad 
public support.
  Let's ensure that all 50 States have protections for vulnerable pain-
capable unborn children. I have advocated for these protections my 
entire career, from the State house in Indiana to here in the United 
States Congress.
  That is why today I express my strong support for the passage of H.R. 
36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, introduced by my 
distinguished colleague, Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona. I urge my 
colleagues tomorrow as well to support this important legislation.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Banks very 
much for his remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Rothfus).
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, pre-born babies feel pain. The medical field has found 
clear evidence that pre-born babies have the capacity to feel intense 
pain at 20 weeks.

                              {time}  2015

  That is what this legislation is about. When a child's body is 
gruesomely dismembered, they feel pain. When the abortion doctor 
attempts to use a ``less crunchy technique''--as we learned in last 
year's abhorrent videos about Planned Parenthood, which was their 
words--to procure more intact body parts, they feel pain.
  Mr. Speaker, I shudder to think of the millions of lives taken from 
this

[[Page 15341]]

world in such a gruesome and violent manner. Equally disturbing is the 
thought of how much pain has been endured by millions of pre-born 
babies whose lives have been cut short since Roe v. Wade.
  We must do more to promote a culture of life in this country. We must 
do more to lessen a culture of violence. That is why I rise today in 
strong support of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. By 
acknowledging that babies feel the pain of abortion at 20 weeks, this 
legislation affirms the inherent humanity of the most innocent--unborn 
babies--in our country.
  To add to that, this legislation also includes protections for babies 
that survive an attempted abortion. It ensures that children who do 
survive and are able to continue to live outside the womb are given the 
immediate medical attention they deserve so that they have a chance to 
live.
  With growing developments in the medical field, children are able to 
survive outside the womb at earlier points in pregnancy. Such was the 
case for Micah Pickering, for whom this legislation is name for. Micah 
was born at 20 weeks' gestation and is now a healthy 5-year-old.
  The Congressional Budget Office recently reported that approximately 
2,750 lives per year will be saved through this bill. That is 2,750 
girls and boys; daughters and sons; brothers and sisters; and not 
medical waste, like opponents of this legislation would like you to 
believe.
  The United States is only one of seven countries, including North 
Korea and China, that allow abortion after 20 weeks.
  Are we really that kind of Nation? Does our Constitution not grant 
all Americans the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, 
no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they are?
  Mr. Speaker, this is commonsense legislation. I urge every single 
Member of this body to take a deep look inside themselves and ask if 
they support not only inflicting pain on unborn babies, but also 
denying these innocent babies their constitutional right to life.
  I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Arizona, for his leadership 
on this important issue.
  If you want to stand for a culture of life, vote for this bill. If 
you want to take a stand against a culture of violence, vote for this 
bill.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I simply say that 
sometimes I think we kind of get caught up in things and we grow used 
to something that otherwise would horrify us.
  Before the sun set this evening, we saw 3,000 unborn little Americans 
die a tragic and lonely death. That is in the land of the free and the 
home of the brave.
  Mr. Speaker, each time that took place, not only did a nameless 
little baby die a lonely and tragic death, but the mother was never the 
same again. All the gifts that that child might have brought to this 
world are now lost forever.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I pray that somehow in this debate we would put 
aside which people are right and ask: What is the right thing for 
America?
  The very creed of this country is the notion that all of us have the 
Imago Dei, or the image of God, stamped on our souls. If that is true, 
Mr. Speaker, then there is a far greater question here than we can ever 
imagine.
  Mr. Speaker, I think if we ask ourselves the truest and deepest 
question, then perhaps we will begin to see the winds of change begin 
to blow in this country. That is very simply without all of the 
rationalization, without all of the gotchas and the what-ifs and the 
avoiding of the subject, and if we just ask ourselves one basic 
question: Does abortion kill a little baby?
  If it does not, Mr. Speaker, then I sincerely am one that can get up 
out of this Chamber and never speak of it again. But if abortion really 
does kill a little human child, then those of us standing here in the 
seat of freedom, the greatest Nation in the history of the world, also 
stand here in the midst of the greatest human genocide in the history 
of the human family.
  Mr. Speaker, that is not what we are called to do in this world, as 
the greatest Nation that ever had the chance to exist on this Earth.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that, as we debate the bill tomorrow, we can put 
aside anything but the truth and just examine in our own hearts who we 
really are. If we do that, I believe we will pass the Pain-Capable 
Unborn Child Protection Act on October 3, 2017. By the grace of God, it 
will go over to the Senate and they will find a way to bring this bill 
to the floor and send it to President Trump, who I have every 
conviction will sign the bill, and for which I am very grateful.
  Mr. Speaker, God bless America, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend 
and colleague Trent Franks for his hard work on this important issue. I 
rise today in support of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
  Children are gifts from God--before and after they are born. They are 
tiny humans with endless potential and complete innocence.
  This bill would stop the practice of ending these precious lives 
after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape or incest or 
necessity to save the mother's life.
  Similar laws have been passed in about 16 states, and this Chamber 
passed similar legislation in 2015. The United States is 1 of only 7 
countries that does not ban abortions of these 20-week-year-old unborn 
babies.
  Science indicates that, at about this age, these children have the 
physical structures needed to feel pain.
  We do not want anyone to have an unwanted pregnancy, but we want 
mothers to know that abortion is not their only option. And we want 
these children protected from pain and harm.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to protect our Nation's most innocent from 
inhumane suffering and premature death.

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