News Conference on Unborn Victims of Violence Act - Transcript

HEADLINE: NEWS CONFERENCE

SUBJECT: UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT

PARTICIPANTS: REPRESENTATIVE MELISSA HART (R-PA); REPRESENTATIVE ROY BLUNT (R-MO); REPRESENTATIVE STEVE CHABOT (R-OH); CAROL AND BUFORD LYONS, PARENTS OF A PREGNANT MURDER VICTIM, SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF THE UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT

LOCATION: HC-6, THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.

BODY:
REP. HART: (In progress) -- and I'm the prime sponsor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as Laci and Conner's Law.

We're here today to bring you some good news, and that is about the passage of the bill today in the House. I don't have a score, but it was a pretty convincing vote today, obviously showing that members of Congress do agree that it is important for us to recognize two victims when a crime of violence is committed against a pregnant woman.

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REP. JO ANN DAVIS (R-VA): Thank you, Melissa.

And I'd just like to publicly say thank you to Congresswoman Hart and to Congressman Steve Chabot, and to the leadership for helping pass this bill. And to say thank you to the folks like the Lyons, who are courageous enough to come forth and speak about something.

And I just-you know, I don't know how you can sit, anybody sit and listen to the Lyons, or listen to Mrs. Rocha and not see that this-this is two victims. This is another child. And for the argument from the opponents to be that it's about abortion, it's not about abortion. It is about a woman's rights. And so, regardless of what ideological or political spectrum women are from, this is a women's rights bill, because the woman has chosen to carry that baby. And if you really care about women's rights and you care about the choice that that woman made to carry that child-and this is about, this bill is about justice for the family, for the father, for the little brothers and sisters of the unborn child, for the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles, that's what this bill is about. It's just-it's about justice.

And I am so thankful, Melissa, that you fought hard and we got it passed out of the House, and I certainly hope our senators will do the same. And I certainly hope the other 21 states-and I'm very disappointed to see that my own state was not on that list. And I will certainly be talking to our local-our state legislators to see if we can't get Virginia to have this law as well.

But thank you all for coming out here and for just making the point that it is about two victims, not one. Thank you.

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