Right to Life is Self Evident
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Mr. LANKFORD. I thank my colleague from New Jersey for hosting
this time in the House Chamber.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of one of the most basic functions
of any government. Three thousand years ago, a mom taught her son,
the king, how to be a wise ruler. We have her words written down in
Proverbs 31, where she told him, ``Speak for those who cannot speak
for themselves.''
Two hundred thirty-five years ago, our founders wrote a despot
king, ``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.''
This truth that all people have the right to life is so obvious,
so clear that they called it ``self-evident.'' But in America,
millions of people cannot pursue happiness and they cannot
appreciate liberty because their first God-given right was
denied--life.
In recent days, discussion from the left has turned to reducing
the numbers of abortions. I applaud this line of thinking because it
admits one thing--abortion is wrong. It destroys a life and it
devastates a future of a mom.
I ask: Why should abortion be reduced if it is just another
medical procedure to remove some unwanted tissue from a woman? If it
is just tissue, what does it matter? No one is saying that we need
to reduce the number of skin moles being removed or reduce the
number of warts that are removed, that that is unconscionable. Why?
Because we know that a wart is unwanted tissue. But a fetus, that is
a baby.
We can use any euphemism, like ``fetus'' or ``dividing tissue'' or
``embryo,'' or just simply ``inconvenience,'' but no one comes to
the family and says: How is the embryo? No one says to a pregnant
woman or hears a pregnant woman say: Excuse me, I just felt the
fetus kick. No one comes to a baby shower and says: Here is a gift
for your inconvenience.
Say what you want, split hairs all you want, we know that is a
baby.
Decades ago, we could not look into the womb and see the
development of the child. People were told the child in the womb was
just like a chicken embryo. But now, with 3-D ultrasound, we can
look into the darkness of the womb and see a child kicking her feet,
sucking her thumb. We can count her fingers and toes and watch their
tiny heartbeat.
At 20 weeks, we can look at the child inside and even say boy or
girl. Why? Because it's a child, not just an embryo. The difference
between an adult and a child in the womb is just time. They are a
person who must be given their most basic of all human rights--life.
I strongly support defining life at conception. I strongly
support adoptions. I strongly support crisis pregnancy centers and
Hope Pregnancy Centers, which are doing such a great job all around
the country and all around my district in Oklahoma. It is time to
cut off Federal funding for abortion.
Why is it in America that taxpayers who are mortified at the
thought of abortion are required to also give their tax money to
fund abortions around the world?
When a constituent comes to me and asks, “Why are my taxes so
high?” I have to tell him, “Partially because your government is
spending some of your hard-earned money on abortion funding around
the globe.”
Why is it in this Chamber today we can debate for hours if an
infant should be guaranteed health care coverage, but yet some of
the same individuals who demand insurance protection for that child
would find no issue in killing that infant only moments earlier when
it was in the womb?
Earlier today, a clinic in Philadelphia was raided, where a
physician was arrested for fully delivering infants 6, 7, 8 months
into the pregnancy and for stabbing with scissors those children
after they had been delivered--today.
This is the United States of America. This issue is not about
oppressing women or denying choice. It is about protecting children
and honoring the self-evident truth that everyone is endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including and
especially life.
Almost four decades ago, individuals in this Chamber laid the
foundation for a court ruling that has stripped the womb of its
glory and its majesty. For decades since, legislators in this
Chamber have protected bald eagle eggs, migrating insects, snail
darters, and rare flowers, but we refuse to protect children.
May God have mercy on our Nation, and may we awaken one day to
the horror of what abortion policies have done to our Nation. We
would rather protect our fundraising, our leadership and our
convenience than protect the unborn child. This is not a difficult
choice. It is a clear choice--and we should choose life.
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