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UNPRECEDENTED CRISES IN AMERICA
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Auchincloss). Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, what a mess we have here on our hands. Make no mistake, our country was facing numerous crises when we all left here for the August district work period, and now it has only gotten worse.
Because of the backwards Biden policies, we have a number of crises, unprecedented crises like our country has never faced, all at one time.
We have an economic crisis where jobs remain stalled and consumer prices continue to soar at their highest rate in 40 years.
We have a border crisis. Everybody can see that. It is impossible to overstate what a disaster it has become. We all see these horrific videos showing over 10,000 illegal migrants being housed under a bridge in the hot Texas sun.
In August alone over 208,000 illegal aliens were encountered at our border by our law enforcement, what is left of it, the Border Patrol, Customs agents. Our border security is overwhelmed, and they can't do the job that they are hired to do.
We have a national security crisis. On Friday, of course, tragically we learned that President Biden's disastrous Afghanistan exit was topped off by a drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including 7 children and zero terrorists.
After nearly two months of district work away from Washington, instead of coming back here early to deal with all these unprecedented crises, the Democrat leadership waited, and so now here we are.
What do they have for us now? What do they have on the docket to handle all these crises? Well, we have a bill to legalize abortion on demand until birth, we have a bill to spend another $3.5 trillion, and they are pushing one of the largest tax increases in our Nation's history.
Their answer for the American people, their answer to us, their answer to stalled jobs and rising inflation and a humanitarian crisis and a foreign policy crisis and all the rest is more abortion, trillions more in spending, and more tax hikes.
This is not what was advertised. This is not what the American people want or need.
You will hear a lot tonight about the Democrats' abortion on demand until birth legislation. We are talking about it tonight. My colleagues who will be joining me here tonight, many will speak to this issue because it is one of the darkest, most brazen, most extreme bills ever brought to this floor. It would legalize on-demand abortion until birth. It would remove nearly all pro-life protections for the unborn, and it would abolish laws that prevent even late-term abortion. It is barbaric, and it must be stopped.
I am so fortunate to be joined tonight by so many colleagues who share my concerns about this to discuss all these monstrous proposals and these terrible disasters that we are facing and to offer our competing vision for the future of this country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to respond a little bit to the statement made prior to the gentleman from Louisiana. I think maybe some of the public was misled into believing that people, the Haitians crossing our southern border are coming here from Haiti. They are actually living quite comfortably or at least adequately in Brazil and Chile and are not coming here out of necessity.
They are coming here because of a change in policy in special immigration status instituted by the Biden administration which, as expected, has resulted in Haitians coming here from other countries than Chile.
Now, tonight there are many issues that should be debated. We have the crisis at the border. We still have the crisis in Afghanistan, we have more mundane inflation here at home, we have the racial hatred trying to be incited by the majority party.
But in the midst of all these other issues, they have decided on Friday, over 220 of them are planning to vote on something called the Women's Health Protection Act. I haven't seen a more morally reprehensible piece of legislation in all my time in public life.
This legislation is going to legalize abortion up to the date of birth. So you understand, right now that will put us as one of seven countries worldwide who are in that ballpark, and only three other countries would have a bill so extreme--Red China, North Korea, and Vietnam--all countries in the recent past--and things have turned around a little in China--countries that proudly shut down religion and in particular Christianity, though it has bounced back a little in China.
So there we are. Are you proud? United States, North Korea, North Vietnam, Red China.
This bill will legalize abortion up to the date of birth. Unbelievable. You have to realize in this country throughout most of our history abortion was illegal. Abortion was illegal even though we didn't have ultrasounds, and it wasn't so obvious how horrific it is.
So what did we respond to with about 50 years of ultrasounds in this country? We look at those ultrasounds, and we send people to Congress who say: Let's kill those children.
I also want to point out there are some moderating bills around the various States which were designed to at least give the people some ability to back away from some of these horrific abortions.
When I was in the State legislature, I authored a bill, it was a 24-
hour waiting period bill, and I talked to plenty of women who were bullied into abortions by boyfriends or parents and regretted it. So we passed a 24-hour waiting period bill, and after they showed up at the abortionist, they looked at the literature they had received, looked at the ultrasounds and turned around.
There is some evidence that because of that bill about one in seven women changed their mind and would not return for the second appointment. But apparently that was too much for the majority party. We cannot give women a 24-hour waiting period. We have to have that abortion soon after they enter the clinic.
The next thing that really intrigues me is some States have gone after sex-selective abortion. Perhaps since the majority party wants to invite people from all over the world here, they like the cultural change which some people view around the world, they view a baby girl as somewhat less desirable than a baby boy, and therefore they want to kill that baby girl. Of course, here in the United States we are offended by such a thing, and States pass bills saying we are not going to have sex-selective abortions. But apparently it is time to weigh in, the majority party feels, time to weigh in into an area which has traditionally been the purview of the States and say: No, no, we can't have States having such a law.
We have to go back to the days in which you would come and do the ultrasound, and say: Oh, it looks like a little girl, better get rid of this one right away. That is apparently what the majority party wants to make legal.
I want the American people to wake up. We need a moral reawakening in this country. Wake up and realize that the majority of the House of Representatives on this Friday is going to stand up and say abortion is legal virtually until birth.
They are going to say it is wrong for any State to say you need a 24-
hour waiting period, it is wrong to say that we want to stop the sex-
selective abortions.
Wake up, America. We are in the middle of a moral free fall.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. It is time to wake up, Mr. Speaker. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), who is equally passionate.
Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, tonight we are going to be talking about the leading causes of death in the United States. I just want to go over this because I think sometimes we become disillusioned with what is actually happening.
The National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on the leading causes of death in the United States but does not include abortion among their list of causes of death.
Here is an accurate representation of the leading causes of death for 2019, which includes the number one cause of death. That is abortion. Also, deaths due to COVID in 2020 and 2021 are included for comparison.
You start off with suicide or intentional self-harm, 47,511 Americans died.
Influenza and pneumonia, 49,783 Americans died.
Nephritis and nephrotic syndrome, kidney disease, 51,665 died from that.
Diabetes, 87,647.
Alzheimer's disease, 121,499 deaths.
Stroke, 150,005 deaths.
Chronic lower respiratory, 156,979 deaths.
Accidents, 172,040 deaths.
Cancer, 599,601 deaths.
COVID, 656,488, and that is 18 months total.
Heart disease, 659,041.
And we all know about these deaths because you cannot watch TV or listen to any news when you are not constantly hearing about what people in America are dying from because it is a crisis for us.
Abortion, 849,000.
All the data are from one year, 2019, except for COVID. Deaths in the United States of America from COVID reached 528,600 at the one-year mark of March 2020 to March 2021, but the entire 18-month death toll is included in the comparison above.
More unborn babies died daily from abortion in the United States of America than born children and adults from the COVID pandemic.
We are asked to wear masks, we are asked to social distance, we are asked to self-quarantine. What we aren't asked is to address deaths by decision. Abortions.
I would like to suggest that, not only all Members of this Congress, but the 330 million Americans that we represent, if they have the opportunity to do it, call their parents and thank them for being pro-
life.
How can we possibly be debating on this floor the destruction of life by a decision, not from a disease but from a decision?
849,000 souls cry out to us. They cannot defend themselves, but we can defend them. We will pass a law--it will get passed here on this floor.
And people will say: Well, you don't understand. You know what, Kelly, I am really not for abortion, it is not my personal preference, but gosh darn it, it is what the Supreme Court issued.
I tell all those Members, you have a voting card that is actually your personal preference and your decision. Please do not try to fool the American people about what is taking place right here in this House, the people's House, and say that somehow your personal preference would not be to see all these children aborted, but there is nothing you can do about it.
Yes, there is. Vote the right way. Turn this down. Abortion right up until birth? Are you kidding me? How in the world can we ever talk about ourselves as being a Judeo-Christian moral country whenever we do things like this?
Mr. Speaker, I just hope that America wakes up and looks at what is taking place right now and says, not on our watch, not ever on our watch, not at this time or any time. The greatest country in the world, the greatest nation in the world, the greatest protector of freedom and liberty cannot sit back and blindly accept what is happening in our country.
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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate Mr. Kelly's clarity and conviction.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin), another man with great conviction.
Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and neighbor for yielding.
I rise today in fierce opposition to H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act of 2021. The goal of this bill is not to protect the health of women, but rather, to remove all barriers standing in the way of murdering millions of innocent babies.
This deceptively-named legislation would be more accurately entitled the abortion on demand until birth act.
Once again, the Democrat Party has pathetically caved to the demands of the far left.
This bill will not only legalize abortion on demand for any reason, it will make it available at any time during the pregnancy.
By nullifying State regulations, this radical bill will eliminate any prohibitions on sex-selection abortions, late-term abortions, and abortions based on Down syndrome or another genetic diagnosis.
The Democrats know that their pro-abortion agenda does not align with the views of most Americans.
They know that when given a choice, more than 75 percent of Americans support some limitations on abortion.
Knowing this, it is too risky for them to leave the choice to the people and to the State legislatures that represent them. Instead, Democrats vote to impose their will at all costs.
We cannot, and I will not, remain silent while Democrats play abhorrent political games with the lives of our most vulnerable citizens. I will never stop fighting to protect the unborn and stand firm in my opposition to this heinous legislation.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Walorski), another strong voice on the issues.
Mrs. WALORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, this week the House is considering radical legislation that would unravel fundamental human rights and obliterate pro-life laws that are across our Nation.
The Democrats' effort to advance this abortion on demand piece of legislation across the Nation could be considered the most consequential legislation of my lifetime.
Much has changed since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. Four decades later our medical capabilities and understanding is far better. And with incredible advancements in modern sonograms and imaging, there can be no doubt that a child in a womb is a living person deserving of life.
And yet in this moment we are about to embark on one of the biggest setbacks in our Nation's history.
Right now, this very moment as it ticks by, lives are on the line as every second goes by.
Some of this bill's supporters like to call pro-life Americans and our convictions extreme. Let me tell you in this House about extreme. I have seen extreme, and I am going to tell you about extreme.
At home in South Bend, Indiana, I saw an extreme abortionist. I saw what an extreme abortionist can do in one decade in several States that happened to be on the abortion train.
It is sickening beyond words what Dr. Ulrich ``George'' Klopfer did as he provided abortions in Indiana for decades. When he died in 2019, his family found the medically preserved remains of 2,411 children in formaldehyde bottles lining the walls in his garage. That is nearly 2,500 human beings.
Law enforcement officials believe that the remains were gathered from his so-called medical practices in Indiana between 2000 and 2003. Dr. Klopfer had countless victims, both unborn babies and mothers, and he represents a grotesque violation of human dignity.
This American society should not and cannot tolerate that. That is extreme.
The abortionist revealed a callous disregard for life. If that isn't extreme, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know what is.
Human life is precious, and every human life, every person deserves that dignity that we are fighting for tonight. We have an obligation to the next generation to oppose this extreme anti-life effort and to uphold the sanctity of life in this Nation.
I am proud to join with millions of pro-life Americans to oppose abortion on demand and to defend the right to life. Science is on our side. More importantly, ladies and gentlemen, the truth is on our side. Our enduring commitment to life will prevail.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for that compelling testimony. And this legislation would formalize, legalize the very industry that allowed that monster to continue his practices in Indiana and elsewhere.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice), a former pastor and great lawmaker.
Mr. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend from Louisiana for yielding. We are here this evening to recognize, but most importantly, to defend the sanctity of human life, something that once again is under attack in this House.
In response to the left's adamant desire for abortion legislation, Speaker Pelosi is demanding that we vote on H.R. 3755 to allow abortion at any time during a pregnancy. The left wants to, in addition, strip away the rights of States to protect the lives of unborn children. This is abortion on demand, and quite frankly, the Democrats don't care if the unborn child has a fully developed heart. They don't care if it has arms or legs or fingers or toes. They don't care if it feels pain. They want abortion, period, and they want to finance it with your tax dollars.
Time and time again, the Democrats in Congress stand in the way of those of us who are trying to protect the lives of those who cannot protect themselves. Eliminating innocent human life is despicable. It is outright evil. And I for one am tired of the left continually sacrificing the lives of the unborn on the altar of their progressive ideals.
We cannot give up this fight. We cannot turn a blind eye. We must defend the sanctity of life and the unborn. Never, and I mean never, will we falter in this duty.
I stand in strong opposition along with my colleagues to H.R. 3755. Life is sacred. It is a fundamental and divine right that is gifted to every single human being, and we will always stand against the abortion industry and fight. Life and the right to life is something that only God almighty gives, and it is something that our Constitution guarantees. So help us God to stand for it.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Thank you so much for that, my brother.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler), one of the great pro-life champions in the congress.
Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3755, the supposed Women's Health Protection Act. The underlying bill would be more aptly titled the women and babies health endangerment act, as it eviscerates State pro-life laws that serve to protect women and babies from dangerous and discriminatory abortion procedures. Simply put, this bill will allow healthcare providers to perform an abortion on anyone, for any reason, at any time up until birth.
By erasing state parental consent protections, informed consent laws, and dangerous take-home chemical abortion prohibitions, this bill would allow a 16-year-old pregnant minor to show up at an abortion clinic, and without knowing how far along she is or any of the risks associated with an abortion procedure be sent home to perform a chemical abortion on herself without medical supervision and without her parents' awareness. Abortion on anyone.
This bill also invalidates State antidiscrimination laws, which would allow babies to be aborted solely because of unwanted characteristics, such as their race, their sex, or disability. Abortion for any reason.
By prohibiting laws that restrict late-term abortions, this bill will allow a baby to be aborted up until birth. As gestational age is the strongest risk factor for abortion-related mortality, this bill marks the most egregious abortion policy ever considered in Congress. In fact, a woman seeking an abortion at 20 weeks is 35 times more likely to die from abortion than she was in the first trimester. At 21 weeks or more, she is 91 times more likely to die from abortion than she was in the first trimester. Abortion at any time.
This bill is bad for women, and it is bad for babies, directly placing both in harm's way.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this appalling measure.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Thank you, Ms. Hartzler, for your leadership on all these things.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner).
Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Women's Health Protection Act, or more accurately, the abortion on demand until birth act.
This legislation imposes on-demand abortion until birth, meaning anyone can have an abortion for any reason up until the day the baby is born. Republicans, and as hard as it is to believe now, at one point even some Democrats, have been fighting for pro-life protections for decades. This bill removes nearly all protections for the unborn at the State and Federal level and allows babies to be aborted just based on the baby's sex, race, and disability.
Since day one of the Biden administration, Democrats have made it their goal to push a radical pro-choice agenda, and this bill is no exception.
For months, Democrats have been encouraging taxpayer-funded abortions in the United States and even going as far as limiting healthcare access to babies that survive abortions.
My colleagues and I standing up here tonight are not the only ones who agree that this bill is wrong for our country. The Democrats' radical agenda is extremely out of touch with the majority of Kansans in my district. In fact, over 80 percent of Americans agree that abortion should be illegal in the third trimester. I am proud to be a member of the Pro-Life Caucus where we are pushing back to help ensure every baby is protected under the law and to be a voice for the millions of pro-life Americans who will not rest until the sanctity of life is protected.
As my Democrat colleagues continue to advance their radical and immoral pro-choice agenda, my constituents can be assured that I will always unapologetically defend the most vulnerable among us, the unborn. And may God help us all in this effort.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), one of the most compassionate voices in the Congress.
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding and for hosting tonight's special order.
I can attest that the most sacred gift we have is our ability to create life. Children are the greatest resource of our Nation. It doesn't matter if the unborn child has a fully-developed heart, arms, legs, fingers, toes, or pain receptors, at any time during a pregnancy even until birth, Democrats want to allow abortions, and they plan to finance it with your tax dollars.
And it is a fact when it is legal and free, it is an inducement to women who find themselves in a hard spot to have an abortion.
I remember seeing the sonogram of my first child and all six of my children after that. A sonogram is a window to the womb.
Interestingly, the Democrats are also anti-informed choice. They want to rush women through and withhold the truth from the pregnant women by withholding required sonograms. I have spoken to many people involved in the industry, and women change their minds when they see the baby in the womb.
Hearing the heartbeat, there is no doubt that my first daughter was a human being. The party that says ``trust the science'' would have you doubt the humanity of an unborn child.
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The right to life is the first right enumerated in the Declaration of Independence. House Republicans support a culture that defends innocent lives and protects the voiceless children in the womb. We also want to protect the women from making the worst decision of their life. This is not about protecting women. You are making victims out of the women also.
Democrats in Congress continue to stand in the way of us protecting those who cannot protect themselves. The American people from all faiths and walks of life have to choose what kind of society they want to live in, one that defends and protects a 9-month baby in the womb or one that is going to sell its body for parts.
May we fear God's coming wrath and weep and mourn over this great national sin.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. I thank the gentlewoman for that stark reminder. It is certainly what the Founders of this country believed, as she noted.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 90 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).
Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson).
Mr. Speaker, everyone sees it on the news. No one can legitimately deny it. Our country is going through the worst immigration crisis in the country.
Now, statistics reported by Customs and Border Patrol show that, in August 2021, our frontline border agents encountered 208,000 illegal migrants. That is a 317 percent increase from August 2020, just 1 year ago.
In total, over 1.3 million illegal aliens have crossed our border this year alone, and we are on track to reach almost 2 million by the end of the calendar year. We do not have a secure border.
Now, with the continued failure of the administration to fully use Title 42 authority to expel illegal immigrants and reduce the spread of COVID-19, it is not just border communities facing the consequences of the Biden administration's policies; it is every community. Every State is now a border State thanks to the administration's open border policies that have green-lighted drug smugglers, human trafficking, and other criminal enterprising that are finding their way into our communities.
Instead of using the Federal Government and the resources at its disposal to protect American citizens, the White House and my Democrat colleagues are doing nothing, failing to even call what we continue to witness at the border a crisis.
Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. We must finish the wall to control the crisis at our southern border, and then we must consistently implement our immigration laws. Americans deserve nothing less.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. He is exactly right. Creating that humanitarian disaster on the southern border also shows a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 90 seconds to the gentlewoman from Colorado
(Mrs. Boebert).
Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, it appears that the death of 13 American soldiers and the billions in American military equipment handed over to terrorists isn't enough tragedy for my Democrat colleagues.
To continue their legacy of death and destruction, progressives decided to bring abortion on demand up for a vote this week. These baby-killing advocates have been spewing lies and half-truths at an alarming rate since heartbeat bills have been passed by States all across the country. So, I thought I would just address a few of these lies.
Lie number one: Abortion is good for women. That is some CNN fake news right there.
Women who have an abortion have an 81 percent increase in risk for mental health problems and are 35 percent more likely to commit suicide. Abortion doubles the risk of alcoholism for women, increases the risk of future miscarriages by up to 60 percent, and, of course, increases the chances of death in the mother. Every abortion leaves one dead and one wounded. Abortion is bad for women.
Lie number two: Rape victims need abortions.
Wrong. They need love. They need support. They need safety and healing. They needed a Glock 19 when it happened. It is time we start addressing killing the raper rather than the baby. What isn't needed is trying to rectify a horrible situation through the killing of an innocent life.
Abortion makes up only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's services. Yep, that is lie number 3. Seriously, no one believes this.
Planned Parenthood is America's number one abortion provider. More than 96 percent of women who seek help at Planned Parenthood have abortions. Planned Parenthood is for women's healthcare like Mattress Firm sells mattresses. Right.
And number four: Heartbeat bills restrict abortion.
Actually, this one is true. You are damn right they restrict abortion, and I am proud to support them. I am proud that, in just a few years, because of heartbeat bills all across America, there will be children enrolling in elementary schools, laughing and smiling because someone took a stand for the voiceless.
God bless these children. God bless their mothers. And God bless America.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Amen. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 90 seconds to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).
Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Louisiana.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to abortion on demand until birth act. I have watched over the last 40 years as abortionists have targeted my race. It was a race that, as a child in the 1960s, had more men committed to marriage, over 70 percent than any other community. Black women were more likely to get married than White women until 1970.
In that community, Black men taught their sons to respect women, to honor their wives, and to be stellar examples for their children.
Over the last 40 years, my race has remained silent as abortionists have murdered close to 20 million of our children. This equates to 40 percent of the Black race exterminated by a multibillion-dollar death industry.
This same industry, and the Democrats who are promoting this bill, are teaching our young girls that killing their babies after being born alive has no consequences, that a living, beating heart is nothing more than a hangnail.
Black women represent 12 percent of America's female population but make up almost 40 percent of the women who end up on the operating table of a wealthy abortionist.
In civilized countries, the taking of 20 million lives would be called genocide. The left now calls it choice.
Over the decades since my youth, we have turned more than 70 percent of our Black fathers into whiners, whinnies, and wimps as they, with no shame, desert their families. They then convince the mothers of their children to absolve them of their responsibility, to man up, to find the character and backbone to provide and protect their own namesake and legacy.
The celebration of the killing our most innocent is pure evil, my friends. We cannot kill the most innocent among us and think we will be blessed.
Take it from someone who has seen this movie before. Compare the Black family of my youth in the 1950s and 1960s with the shell of the Black family today.
The pathway to the destruction of our precious family unit, manhood, womanhood, and our American culture begins with the wanton destruction of our babies. If we continue to allow this to happen to our great Nation, evil wins and America loses. I pray that our Nation finally turns its back on this dark and destructive industry.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, it is pure evil. I thank the gentleman for stating it so clearly.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 90 seconds to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Carl).
Mr. CARL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to H.R. 3755, the abortion on demand act.
This bill would make permanent a law to allow abortion providers to perform an abortion for any reason at any point in a pregnancy.
It would also make permanent law a woman's ability to get an abortion for any reason and at any point in the pregnancy. This is in direct violation of countless State and Federal pro-life laws.
By passing this law, pro-abortion radicals would eliminate even the most basic protection for unborn children at any stage in their development.
It is extremely discouraging to see the absolute lack of care for human life and basic human dignity. Life is a precious gift from God, and every human is made in God's image. Every person, especially children, should have the inherent dignity in the right to life.
We have a fundamental duty as a society to fight for life and to ensure that the most vulnerable among us are protected. I am proud to be 100 percent pro-life, and I will continue fighting any efforts by this body to take away the rights of the unprotected, unborn, and newborn children.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides to reject this abortion on demand act and join me for the fight.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Carl) so much.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 90 seconds to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore).
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my intense opposition to H.R. 3755, the abortion on demand until birth act.
States have long had the right, even under Roe v. Wade, to pass laws to protect life and women's health. But with this bill, House Democrats would override the will of my constituents and the American people, eliminating State and Federal pro-life laws across the country.
The bill is so extreme that it would throw out Utah laws that are actually in line with Roe v. Wade. It would overturn a Utah law passed in 2006, which requires minors to receive parental consent before receiving an abortion; a Utah law passed in 2012, which requires those seeking an abortion to wait 72 business hours before a face-to-face informational visit and an abortion; and a Utah law amended in 2009, which bans abortion at the point of viability.
This bill would legalize in Utah essentially all abortions up until birth. The vast majority of my constituents in the First District, including those on the right, those in the center, and those on the left, support commonsense protections of third-trimester babies. The bipartisan partial-birth abortion ban, which protects children from painful--my wife is 6 months pregnant, sorry. It would also explicitly preempt the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and eliminate conscience rights for doctors and nurses who don't want to participate in abortions.
Our focus in Congress should be oriented toward ensuring every child has opportunities, no matter the circumstances of their conception or birth, and that pregnant women and mothers have the resources they need to support the families so they can make the right choice.
Democrats' radical attempt to federalize and expand abortion until birth is unconscionable in every way for the First District of Utah and for our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in adamant opposition to H.R. 3755.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, it should break our hearts. I thank my friend for that authenticity.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger). We began the morning in a prayer group, and now we end with this.
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak against this unconscionable abortion on demand until birth act. I strongly oppose this extreme bill.
I am a mother and a grandmother of two precious grandsons, and I am committed to protecting the life of the unborn. As a pharmacist, I have helped many women overcome fertility issues to be able to give birth to these treasured trusts from Heaven, which supporters of this bill deem expendable and nonviable.
These same women were desperate to have and to hold these precious children that this bill would make so easy to abort for such reasons as inconvenience, wrong sex, medical inadequacies, and bad timing. The uncompromising push to allow on-demand abortions until birth is heartbreaking. It would overturn almost all pro-life laws put in place by States to protect those unborn children, including late-term abortion bans.
We cannot allow this to happen. I will be voting no on the abortion on demand bill. And let me tell you, when I do, I will be thinking of all the precious lives that have been saved through the very pro-life protections that this bill seeks to overturn.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my fellow colleagues who care about the sanctity of life to join me in opposition.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), who has made a career out of defending the defenseless.
Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the abortion on demand act.
This week, Democrats have brought the so-called Women's Health Protection Act to the floor for a vote. This grotesque bill would dismantle all efforts by State lawmakers who work on behalf of their constituents to protect the unborn.
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The passage of pro-life laws in Texas, such as the heartbeat bill, has broad support in the States in which they are enacted. Voters elect Republican legislators to ensure that their values are protected and defended. Out-of-touch Democrats are overriding the consciences of millions of Americans who support the right to life.
Most egregiously, this bill would legalize abortions up through the last trimester. Late-term abortions are not a healthcare issue; they are a human rights issue.
With this bill, pro-choice colleagues fail to address one crucial element, the choice of an unborn child to live out their God-given destiny.
Republicans stand ready to give our voice to the voiceless and to do everything in our reach to ensure that this bill never becomes the law of the land.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pfluger.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana.
Mr. Speaker, this evening I am here with my colleagues in opposition to H.R. 3755, a bill that House Democrats are pushing this week that would eliminate protections for unborn babies and establish a nationwide system of abortion on demand.
If enacted, this bill would overrule all Federal and State laws that recognize the sanctity of life. Under this proposal, an abortion could be performed for any reason at any time up until the baby is born.
Contrary to what some have claimed, this bill is not healthcare. It is the exact opposite of healthcare, and it prioritizes the profits of the abortion industry above the sanctity of life.
Washington Democrats' pro-abortion agenda is appalling, and you can count on me to always fight for life and shield taxpayer dollars from ever being used for abortions.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand for life and support unborn babies and vote ``no'' on this bill.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer), who is the policy chairman of the Republican Conference.
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana, Representative Johnson, for arranging this Special Order to highlight the deviously entitled Women's Health Protection Act and for giving us the opportunity to speak up for the unborn.
With this bill, the Democrats have actually sought to remove protections for women and their babies enacted by State legislatures across the country. These protections include ensuring that abortion providers have the most basic of medical credentials, admitting privileges at a hospital should an emergency arise as a result of an abortion.
The bill would also preclude abortion clinics from providing information relevant to a woman's right to know, including an ultrasound prior to the procedure.
By removing these protections and the right of women to be fully informed, the supporters of this bill are exposing women to injury and death and, in many cases, a lifetime of sorrow and regret.
There is another loss that is suffered. In the loss of millions of lives not lived, this Nation has lost incalculable talent, intellect, and achievement of those who never lived to bless us with the gifts they surely possessed. These are children who could have been great teachers, doctors, inventors, artists, and spiritual leaders. Our lives are less today because we never gave them the chance to live.
These were lives that deserved protection. This bill denies the reality of what we have lost and ignores the great potential of children whose lives will be taken if this bill passes.
Tonight, I stand in this Chamber to declare that the lives of those lost to abortion mattered, and we are less as a Nation because of it.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to oppose this bill and to stand not just for the lives of unborn children but also for the enormous potential that those lives have.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 3755 and embrace life and all its potential.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach).
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana for hosting this Special Order to discuss the abortion on demand act.
Mr. Speaker, this bill imposes national abortion on demand until birth, abolishing all past, present, and future State laws on this topic. Not only does this pose a grave threat to States' rights, but it will also harm countless babies and women along the way.
During Rules Committee, I asked a simple question: Does anything in this bill actually have any reasonable health benefit for women? And the answer is, no, it does not. The bill the Democrats name the Women's Health Protection Act has nothing to do with women's health.
This bill would wipe out countless State laws that protect women and babies, like clinic regulation and parental notice, including a law I shepherded through the Minnesota State Legislature on women's right to know. This law simply requires a physician to provide a woman seeking an abortion information about medical risks.
I can't imagine a world in which a physician performs a non-emergent medical procedure on any person without explaining their options and risks beforehand, but that is apparently the world my Democrat colleagues want to live in.
As a co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, one of my highest priorities as a Member of Congress is protecting innocent life. This bill is a direct, tragic attack on life, and I urge my colleagues to oppose it.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on the issue.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana, my dear friend. I am honored to be here and to stand with you and so many of my colleagues who believe, like we in west Texas believe unquestionably and unequivocally, that life is sacred, and it is a gift from God. We celebrate that, and we praise God for that.
We also believe that whether you are 2 weeks in the womb as an unborn citizen of this great country or you are 2 years old or you are 22, you deserve the constitutionally protected right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
If anybody questioned whether the Democratic Party has been hijacked by the radical left, look no further than H.R. 3755, abortion on demand for any reason at any time, right up until the child is born, when the child is viable to live independently outside the womb, when the child can feel pain in the termination of its life.
Mr. Speaker, this would put us on par with the likes of North Korea, China, and only seven countries in the world that allow for late-term abortions.
It usurps States' sovereign rights to determine their values and their culture of life and to restrict reasonably this horrible procedure where people would abort a child simply because they didn't get a boy when they wanted a girl, or somehow they discovered that the child has Down syndrome.
They can't put these reasonable protections in place because this is yet another top-down from Washington, a one-size-fits-all to impose Washington values on the American people.
I can just tell you, Mr. Speaker, I am proud of Texas' record of passing pro-life legislation that reflects the pro-life values of the people of Texas.
I stand against H.R. 3755. As for me and my house and the people of west Texas, we stand for life, which is why we oppose this.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. Well said. God bless Texas.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).
Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues in support of life and against the so-called Women's Health Protection Act, which would radically expand abortion nationwide through all 9 months of pregnancy.
Importantly, rather than protecting women and their children, it removes essential protections that are currently in place for both of them.
Here is what the bill does instead. It abolishes informed consent laws that ensure parental involvement in the decisions of their children. It abolishes laws that regulate the prescribing or dispensing of dangerous chemical abortion drugs.
Think about this for a minute. This bill would prohibit laws that actually protect women from the harms of a dangerous, do-it-yourself chemical abortion without seeing a doctor first. It abolishes laws that regulate or restrict abortions performed via telemedicine. It abolishes health and safety regulations for abortion clinics. It abolishes waiting period laws. It abolishes laws that prevent abortion prior to fetal viability, legislatively imposing the viability rule.
In addition, the bill would strip the rights of States to pass lifesaving regulations on abortion and also requires that new pro-life laws be approved by the Department of Justice before taking effect.
The radical nature of this bill goes so far as to make it impossible to protect unborn children who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome or other fetal anomaly diagnoses from selective abortions, as well as enabling sex-selection abortions. It denies basic science.
But here is what we do know. At 6 weeks, the unborn baby has a heartbeat of approximately 98 beats per minute. By 10 weeks, the unborn baby has arms and legs, fingers and toes, and is sucking his or her thumb. By 15 weeks, all of the unborn baby's major organs have formed. They can feel pain, and surgeries have been successfully performed on unborn babies at this age.
That is why I strongly oppose H.R. 3755. Since my first day in Congress, I have stood to protect life and be a voice for the defenseless, and I won't stop now.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Cline has done that, indeed, and I am grateful for his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina
(Mr. Cawthorn).
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, diplomacy with a tyrant is useless.
Joe Biden does not sympathize with the plight of States fighting the border crisis. He revels in it. This is his dream: open borders and American carnage.
Joe Biden has backed Republican Governors into a corner. They are in fight or flight mode. Sending letters like this one demanding a meeting with him on the border is not in the fight mode we need. To him, and the American people, it is a white flag of surrender.
Republican Governors, do something. You are writing letters to a man who does not give a damn about you. He does not care about your plight. He does not care about your State. He does not care about you. Stop sending letters and start taking action.
Stand up and defend your State today. You have the power. Use it. You have the resources. Use them. You have the National Guard. Use it. Do whatever it takes because the Democrats, hellbent on radicalizing America, are barreling over us with their agenda while we push paper.
Unfortunately, this responsibility has fallen to our Republican Governors to have to defend our borders and defend our country. If they fail in this plight, then we will not have a country to remember.
Please, do the job that has, unfortunately, fallen on your shoulders.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those comments.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President, and Members are also reminded to address their remarks to the Chair and not to a perceived viewing audience.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson).
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight during this Special Order to speak in opposition to H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act. It is misappropriately named, given the many unborn girls, women, and boys that will be murdered should this act be enacted.
{time} 2030
Earlier this year I spoke on the floor defending the Hyde amendment as Democrats, for the first time in over four decades, decided to remove it from the fiscal year 2022 appropriations.
Tonight, I am back to fight for the rights of the unborn as Democrats attempt to push through another item of their radical pro-abortion agenda. This legislation is extreme. It would impose nationwide abortion on demand until birth laws making every State a late-term abortion State.
This bill would create a national standard to allow for abortions for any reason and at any stage of pregnancy. It would abolish virtually all past, present, and future pro-life State laws, ultimately overriding State laws that prevent discriminatory abortions based on the identity of the baby--of the yet-to-be-born child--and based on a baby's sex, race, or disability.
We should be putting forth legislation supporting a culture that values life and respects the health of mothers and children, born and unborn. We must always be a voice for the voiceless, and that is why I will continue to fight for the lives of the unborn.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for leading this Special Order. It is a righteous cause.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the leadership of my friend.
Mr. Speaker, I am running out of time here, but in the very short few seconds I have remaining, I just want to reiterate what all my colleagues shared with such compassion, conviction, and clarity here on the floor tonight. H.R. 3755, the abortion on demand until birth legislation, is, as we said, brazen. It is dark, and it is one of the most extreme bills imaginable, certainly ever presented on this floor. We pray that it is defeated, and we will work to defeat it, we owe that to the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I know my time has expired, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 164
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