Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

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By Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. Nelson, of Nebraska):

S. 270. A bill to provide for programs that reduce the need for abortion, help women bear healthy children, and support new parents; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a member of the American family for whom we all care, but for whom we don't do nearly enough to support: pregnant women.

I remember the times my wife Terese learned she was pregnant, and even though I can never experience it directly, I know through her and my sisters that there is one indelible and unforgettable moment when a woman finds out she is pregnant. For many women, this is a moment of great joy, the miracle of pregnancy. Perhaps it has been long awaited or perhaps it is something of a surprise, but it is welcome. Many of these women don't need help beyond what their families provide and others may receive adequate support within our existing framework of programs and services.

But there is another circumstance that a pregnant woman may face. For that woman, the moment of discovery is not a moment of joy. For her, it is a moment of terror, or panic or even shame. She may be in a doctor's office or clinic or she may be at home. For her, that moment begins a crisis in which she feels overwhelmingly and perhaps almost unbearably alone. She could be wealthy, middle income or poor, but most likely poor. Whatever her income, she feels, very simply, all alone.

A pregnant woman may have an abusive spouse or boyfriend who is tormenting her. She is all alone.

Another pregnant woman may believe that she cannot support or care for a new baby at this point in her life. She is all alone.

Another woman might believe that her financial situation is so precarious that she cannot care for and raise a child. She may feel alone and helpless.

We know that 48 percent of all pregnancies are unintended and, excluding miscarriages, 54 percent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion. The response ``cannot afford a baby'' is the second most frequently cited reason why women choose to have an abortion and 73 percent of women having abortions cited this reason as a contributing factor.

A woman who is facing the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy that may be a crisis for her does not need a lecture from a politician or a clinical reminder that she has a simple choice to make. The choice is never simple. Never. This woman needs support and love and understanding. She needs to be embraced in her time of crisis, not sent on her way to deal with it on her own. She needs our help to walk with her, not only throughout the nine months of her pregnancy, but also for the early months and years of her child's life.

We in the Congress, in both the House and Senate and both parties, need to address this issue in a comprehensive way that meets these needs. Some members have initiated good efforts and we should applaud and support those efforts, but I believe that neither political party is doing enough for pregnant women in America today. While there is tremendous disagreement on how we can best do this, there is one significant area of common ground--one thing we all agree upon. We all want to reduce the number of abortions.

Many women who have abortions do so very reluctantly, and while ``choice'' is a term that is widely used in this debate, many women who face unplanned pregnancies do not feel they have a genuine choice. That is why I am introducing the Pregnant Women Support Act. With this bill, it is my fervent hope that a new dialogue--a common ground--will emerge on how we can reduce abortions by offering pregnant women real choices:

This bill will: assist pregnant and parenting teens to finish high school and prepare for college or vocational training; help pregnant college students stay in school, offering them counseling as well as assistance with continuing their education, parenting support and classes, and child care assistance.

It will provide counseling and shelter to pregnant women in abusive relationships who may be fearful of continuing a (pregnancy in a crisis situation; establish a national toll-free number and public awareness campaign to offer women support and knowledge about options and resources available to them when they face an unplanned pregnancy; give women free sonogram examinations by providing grants for the purchase of ultrasound equipment; provide parents with information about genetic disability testing, including support for parents who receive a diagnosis of Down Syndrome; ensure that pregnant women receive prenatal and postnatal care by eliminating pregnancy as a pre-existing condition in the individual healthcare market and also eliminating waiting periods for women with prior coverage; increase funding for nurse home visitation for pregnant and first time mothers. One example of this is the Nurse-Family Partnership, an evidence-based program and national model in which nurses mentor young first-time and primarily low-income mothers, establishing a supportive relationship with both mother and child.

Studies have shown this program to be both cost effective and hugely successful in terms of life outcomes for both mothers and children; increase funding for the Women, Infants and Children Program, providing nutrition assessment, counseling and education, obesity prevention, breastfeeding support, prenatal and pediatric health care referrals, immunization screening and referral, and a host of other services for mothers and children; expand nutritional support for low-income parents by increasing the income eligibility level for food stamps; increase funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, the primary source of federal funding for child care assistance for low-income parents.

I introduce this bill with the deepest conviction that we can find common ground. I believe that we can transform this debate by focusing upon the issues that unite us, not the issues that divide us. It's well known where I stand on these issues. I am a pro-life Democrat. I believe that life begins at conception and ends when we draw our last breath. I believe that the role of government is to protect, enrich, and value life for everyone, at every moment, from beginning to end. And I believe that we as a nation have to do more to support women and their children when they are most vulnerable--during pregnancy and early childhood.

I support family planning programs because they avoid what can be a dark moment, when a woman, often alone, faces a pregnancy she feels she can't handle. I support family planning programs precisely because they reduce abortions. But that is not the issue I address today. Today, with this bill, I am focused on the woman who is pregnant and I am asking a question we should all be asking: ``What more can I do?'' ``What more can we do for pregnant women who need our help?''

I believe there is more common ground in America than we might realize--if only we focus on how we can truly help and support women who wish to carry their pregnancies to term and how we can give them and their babies what they really need to begin healthy and productive lives together.

For the past 35 years, the abortion issue has been used mostly as a way to divide people, even as the number of abortions remains unacceptably high. We have to find a better way. I believe the Pregnant Women Support Act is part of that better way. We must work toward real solutions to the issue of abortion by targeting the underlying factors that often lead women to have abortions. This is precisely what the Pregnant Women Support Act will do.

We need to walk in solidarity with pregnant women who face unplanned pregnancies and who need our support and help, not our judgment. That is exactly what this bill does for that woman who finds herself alone as she faces what may be the most difficult experience of her entire life: the woman who has no one to turn to for advice, for counsel, for support. I truly believe there are few things more terrifying than the prospect of supporting another human being when you have no support of your own.

Reducing the number of abortions should not be a partisan issue. It should not pit Democrats against Republicans. I seek. common ground. I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in seeking real solutions that will unite us in providing life with dignity, before and after birth, for pregnant women, mothers and children. Surely we must all agree that no woman should ever have to face the crisis of an unplanned pregnancy alone.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record

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