Congressional Record—House H3732
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H3732 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 27, 2018 who spend their entire careers pursuing lieve is a right to decide who lives and that that burden couldn’t be upon the excellence as a warrior, often wrestle who dies and under what terms that abortionist to know what Congress ac- with life back as a civilian. might be. tually meant. Therefore, the Supreme The Transition Assistance Program In 1973, January 22 of 1973, two deci- Court ruled it unconstitutional. can help prepare folks like Bill for the sions came down from the United They also added to it being indistinct challenges and opportunities of States Supreme Court. One was Roe v. that Congress had not established that transitioning to civilian life, to create Wade, which most everyone seems to it was never medically necessary to a new sense of purpose, to equip them know and understand; and that Roe v. save the life of the mother. with the tools to be successful in the Wade decision essentially was that So we went back to work here in this marketplace, leveraging their unique they believe that the child wouldn’t be Congress, and I was part of that as a experiences and skills from their time protected until after the first tri- member of the Judiciary Committee. in the armed services. mester. Trimesters were part of the The chairman of the Constitution and Named in honor of Bill Mulder, my dialogue in Roe v. Wade. Civil Justice Subcommittee at that legislation works to strengthen and Doe v. Bolton was the companion time was Congressman STEVE CHABOT improve this program. We owe it to case; and in that companion case of from Ohio, a very strong and principled Bill and every veteran to make the Doe v. Bolton that was decided on the pro-life Congressman to this day, and I transition from Active Duty to civilian same day, it essentially said, except for hope the next chairman of the House life more seamless and successful, all of these other things: the life or Judiciary Committee, and he is the which I believe this legislation does. health of the mother, the familial rela- central player in this, and I got to God bless the Mulder family. God tionship of the mother, the economic weigh in and maybe tweak the lan- bless our troops. God bless America. condition of the mother, of course the guage a little bit, but we precisely de- fined the act of partial-birth abortion f physical health of the mother. The list went on. precisely enough. ISSUES OF THE DAY But it was so broad that it really said We also held hearing after hearing The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. this: that Roe v. Wade says you can that concluded that a partial-birth ARRINGTON). Under the Speaker’s an- have abortion on demand after the first abortion was never necessary to save nounced policy of January 3, 2017, the trimester. Doe v. Bolton said you can the life of a mother. There were ghastly testimonies that gentleman from Iowa (Mr. KING) is rec- have abortion on demand for any rea- came before the Judiciary Committee ognized for 60 minutes as the designee son or essentially no rational reason in that period of time, but we passed of the majority leader. whatsoever. that legislation off the House, we Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I ap- And that stayed in place from 1973 passed it off the Senate, and it was liti- preciate the privilege and the honor to until 1992, when the Planned Parent- gated again. LeRoy Carhart was the address you here on the floor of the hood v. Casey decision came down. lead abortionist who litigated this United States House of Representa- It is interesting that the son of Dem- case. It was Gonzales v. Carhart, as I tives, and I come to the floor today to ocrat Governor of Pennsylvania— former Governor of Pennsylvania, since recall. bring up a list of subjects that I think I went to Lincoln, Nebraska. It was passed away, God rest his pro-life should be deliberated upon here in the heard in three circuits. The one in Lin- soul—BOB CASEY, who was denied the House Chamber. coln, Nebraska, is the one I sat in on; The first one that is on my mind is opportunity to speak before the Demo- and after a number of hours of listen- the moral calling that we have to step cratic National Convention because of ing to that case be heard before the in to save the lives of the most inno- his pro-life credentials, was the subject court, I went out and did a press con- cent among us. And as I watched some of the lawsuit from Planned Parent- ference outside the Federal building of the discussion that took place here hood to Governor Casey of Pennsyl- because the judge had said that the two on the floor today, and I look over at vania. attorneys in the case, the opposing at- the people that were a part of the privi- Out of that decision came a majority torneys in the case, had done more due leged motion, as I reflect upon however opinion that ratcheted the abortion diligence than the United States Con- strong they are in their verbal support issue a little ways, and it said: Well, gress. for the Catholic Church, I didn’t see you can’t abort them after there is a I knew what the due diligence was one of them over there that actually viability. here. He did not. So I raised that issue: will defend innocent, unborn human But that viability was indistinct, and How do you do more due diligence than life. And we have tested it time after it settled in somewhere around 24 or 25 the United States Congress bringing in time here on the floor of the House of weeks. So it had litigation around the wisdom of America and the Amer- Representatives. that. We have had legislation around ican people and having public hearings So the central principle of the Catho- that. But, meanwhile, abortion on de- and rolling that information out over lic Church, and many other Christian mand pretty much walked its way and over again, and the due diligence of faiths, I will add, is to protect inno- across this country. precisely parsing the language of the cent, unborn human life, to oppose In the late part of the 1990s, we had decision that went against life and for abortion-on-demand, and to respect the legislation that passed that banned a ghastly and ghoulish abortion, and values that once a child is conceived, partial-birth abortion. It was a big de- precisely defined that act so that it once fertilization takes place, we have bate here on the floor of the House of could no longer be argued that we a unique combination of DNA that is Representatives, that ghastly and didn’t make it clear enough in our leg- never matched again in history; and ghoulish practice—and I won’t describe islation? that unique combination of DNA is cre- it here on the floor out of sensitivity, And we made it very clear that it was ated in God’s image, and I believe that Mr. Speaker, to ears that might not be never necessary to do a partial-birth he puts a soul in that little baby from able to absorb this—but it is ghastly abortion to save the life of the mother. that moment. and it is ghoulish, a partial-birth abor- We established those principles; and tion. once we established those principles, b 1230 Yet that practice was going on then I am there in Lincoln, Nebraska, And as that little baby starts to grow around this country. This Congress to defend it. I could only speak to that in its mother’s womb, we have a child banned it in the House and in the Sen- court through the press. There wasn’t a that is a gift to the world and a gift ate. Then it was litigated; and, let’s way for me to walk down and make a here to America; a gift to that child’s see, as it was litigated, the Supreme case before the judge, but I made the parents, grandparents, family, neigh- Court ruled that partial-birth abortion case to the press; and when he read the bors, community; a gift to our country. was a legal act because the Congress press clippings the next morning, ap- Yet there is a policy here that allows had failed to define the act of partial- parently, is when he discovered this, he for the Supreme Court to step in and birth abortion precisely enough that it offered to recuse himself. intervene with the will of the people was a vague description as to what Well, I wish they had taken him up and establish what they seem to be- that act actually was. So they said on that. But in any case, Judge Kopf VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:20 Apr 28, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4636 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K27AP7.046 H27APPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with HOUSE April 27, 2018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H3733 found against life and for abortion, as proach 100 percent. I use 95 percent be- bration among your family in that did the other two circuits, and we had cause I am confident that that number way. All those things are fine, but it is now lost at two or three circuits in the does not overstate.