Extensions of Remarks
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17362 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 2, 1977 consideration of a concurrent resolution dis resolution, the rule or regulation may go statute is adopted affecting the agency's pow approving the rule or regulation, and neither into effect not sooner than 90 calendar days ers with respect to the subject matter of the House has adopted such a resolution, the rule of continuous session of Congress after its rule or regulation. or regulation may go into effect immediately. promulgation unless disapproved as provided "(2) If the agency proposes a new rule or in paragraph (1) (A). regulation dealing with the same subject If, within such 60 calendar days, such a matter as a disapproved rule or regulation, committee has reported or been discharged "(b) (1) The agency may not promulgate a the agency shall comply with the procedures from further consideration of such a resolu new rule or regulation identical to one dis required for the issuance of a new rule or tion, or either House has adopted such a approved pursuant to this section unless a regulation. EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS MUNICIPAL CHILD HEALTH SERV them in five primary care clinics, four of indiscriminate spread of abortions in ICES, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. which are located in schools. Cambridge has this country, thus violating that right. I a neighborhood school system, so these clin ics are all within easy walking distance for believe very firmly that something the people with the greatest need for med should be done to reverse that trend. HON. THOMAS P. O'NEILL, JR. ical services. They are staffed five days a This bill is my attempt to do that. OF MASSACHUSETTS week, twelve months a year by the nurse According to the latest figures avail IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES practitioners who serve as combination able at the Center for Disease Control in school-public health nurses and primary care Thursday, June 2, 1977 Atlanta, Ga., in my home State of Utah practitioners for school and preschool chil in 1975 there were 2,146 reported abor Mr. O'NEILL. Mr. Speaker, during this dren in the neighborhoods. tions, or 68 for every 1,000 live births. period of rising health costs and the Con As the school nurse, the nurse practi The national average was 274 abortions gress commitment to enact national tioner manages medical problems and keeps the required records, but the annual physi per 1,000 live births, for a total of 854,853 health i:isurance I would like to bring cal has been abandoned. Instead, each year in the Nation. to the attention of my colleagues a health teachers are interviewed by the pediatric And the most shocking statistic was care program from my hometown of nurse practitioners to identify kids that right here in Washington, D.C., where Cambridge, Mass., that has actually re seem to have physical or behavioral prbb there are more than 1,000 abortions for duced the cost of health care for chil lems. When questioning reveals anything every 1,000 live births-and those are dren. The success of this program is de that suggests possible pathology, the child only the reported ones. New York City scribed in the fallowing memorandum is seen by the nurse practitioner, who then came in second, sharing the same dis given to me by the city of Cambridge refers to Cambridge Hospital pediatricians all children who are suspected of having tinction of reporting more abortions and the Robert Wood Johnson Founda either medical or behavorial problems re than live births. To me, that is an alarm tion. quiring definitive diagnosis and care. ing and unacceptable trend. MUNICIPAL CHILD HEALTH SERVICES, The clinical activities of the pediatric The notion that a human fetus is not CAMBRIDGE, MAss. nurse practitioners encompass all of the rou a person is apparently the major jus Cambridge, Massachusetts is successfully tine procedures in a general pediatric office tification for such a situation. Well, that providing comprehensive medical and hos practice. This includes the "routine, periodic is purely and simply wrong. An embryo pital services to 9,000 inner-city children, look, weigh and measure" of wen-baby care, is an individual. True, it depends on its mainly through nurse practitioner staffed plus diagnosis and treatment of upper res clinics located in schools, and at a cost of piratory infections, sore throats, otitis me mother for life-supporting fluids and $100 per child per year. Furthermore, the rUa, and skin problems. The nurses also nutrients, but it has its own biological program ha-s been created by shifting exist counsel mothers on problems related to rais system, needing only time and the ing public health, municipal hospital and ing children. proper nourishment to become a self school resources and has not required federal The pediatric nurse practitioners are spe supporting human being. • or foundation grants or large increases in cifically charged with the responsibility of My resolution would clarify the ter local taxes. • ensuring that all referral appointments are minology in the 5th and 14th amend Since the program began in 1968, it has: kept and that problems they identify are ments, where it says all "persons" have Cut in half the inappropriate use by chil managed or resolved by a physician or other dren of emergency serVices at Cambridge appr:>prlate specialist. the right to life and are protected from Hospital, while use of these services by a The health department's part of the sys the government or anyone else taking control group went up or remained stable. tem-the primary care network and the that life away. · Dropped the prevalence of blood lead lev school health program--costs less today in With my amendment, the word "per els in preschoolers from 7% to 0.5%. · 1965 dollars than the ineffective 1965 opera son" would be interpreted to include Cut the rate of anemia in one to two year tion did. Total cost of the pediatric system "unborn human offspring." Thus, our olds from 16% to 4%, and in two to three hospital and primary care network, includ embryonic citizenry would be guar year olds from 22 % to 7 % . · ing school health-is estimated at $100 per anteed the same rights the rest of us Increased the immunization level city-wide child/year. The primary care network alone boast so loudly about but so casually from 55% in 1966 to 97% in 1974 for children accounts for $35 per child/ year of the total. entering school deny the defenseless, unseen, unborn The program has been developed by Philip child. The only exception should be Porter, M.D., Director, Department of Pedi when the life of the mother is threat atrics at Cambridge Hospital. When he came PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO LIFE ened by an impending birth. to Cambridge in 1965, he was confronted OF UNBORN CHILDREN There is little need, as I see it, to re with a pediatric emergency service that was fute the idea that an individual have heavily used for routine medical care by complete control over another life sim parents from the eastern half of Cambridge. HON. DAN MARRIOTT ply because it would inconvenience his The reasons for this "misuse" were clear. These families-approximately 60,000 people OF UTAH lifestyle. To destroy a life simply to avoid in all-were blue-collar or on welfare and IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the responsibility of rearing a child is were served by one pediatriction at the point nanowminded and selfish and goes of retirement and twelve general practition Thursday, June 2, 1977 against the grain of any right-thinking ers (no new physicians had entered practice Mr. MARRIOTT. Mr. Speaker, today person. If there is a question about the in the poorer half of Cambridge in 15 years). I introduced a joint resolution to amend life of tpe mother, that is a different In 1967 the city voted to merge the munic the Constitution and protect the right story. But embarrassment over a preg ipal hospital and health department, and nancy is no justification for abortion. Dr. Porter became overall director of all to life of unborn children and make pediatric services. Determined to develop a abortions illegal except to save the life Even in cases of rape, the resulting child pediatric care system within a few years of a mother. would be considered a blessing by couples which cared for children from birth to age The right to life is sacred, and along who cannot have children of their own 16, he replaced retiring school nurses with with many of my colleagues and mil and would be willing to adopt it. pediatric nurse practitioners and stationed lions of Americans, I am alarmed by the The question of overpopulation is also June 2, 1977 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 17363 a fallacious excuse for abortion. We have These excellent results are in large part would add to the financial burden of run the technology and resources to feed due to the time and effort put forth by ning the Federal Government without and house many times the number of each CFC chairman. Their work on the any quarantees or certainty of cor people in America. We need to concen fundraising drive comes in addition to responding benefits. trate on making America a better place their regular duties in Government. Be These disadvantages and the avail to live for the children of the future cause of their fine demonstration of lead ability of more promising alternatives rather than stopping them from coming ership and generosity, I would like to have raised many objections from those here.