Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Madam Speaker, 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, and among these rights are the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The bill before the House today affirms what a majority of Americans believe, that over halfway through a pregnancy, an unborn baby deserves the full protection of the law and the Constitution.

As a mother of three and a legislator, I have always believed that every life has value, every life deserves the opportunity to reach its full potential. We live in an extraordinary time in which we are not bound by the conditions of our birth. We are not sentenced by our circumstance. And we should not be defined by what limits us but empowered by what we can become. As lawmakers, it is our responsibility to ensure that our laws reflect that.

Medical science continues to evolve to create greater potential for life. Emerging research is challenging what we thought to be true of the earliest

stages of human life. Just last week, The New York Times highlighted a study that showed a growing number of premature infants surviving after the point at which this bill would make abortion illegal.

As a society, we need to ask whether we want to move forward with a better standard of living or if we want to rely on the outdated scientific research of the past. I want to legislate for the future, and the future will be defined by how we use the advancements taking place today to protect and improve human life.

Those who represent the future are already there. There was a recent poll that 57 percent of millennials support this legislation, and they echo the voice of America. Sixty percent of Americans--Democrats, Republicans, Independents--support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

Abortion is really a symptom of larger challenges that exist in our society, and these challenges demand attention of lawmakers. Pretending that there is a one-size-fits-all approach to abortion ignores the complex circumstances that surround each woman who is forced to consider choosing an abortion.

This bill recognizes that at the halfway point of a pregnancy, a baby who has developed 5 months, those circumstances are increasingly more unique. Research shows that abortion becomes riskier to a woman's health the later it occurs in pregnancy.

We should not trivialize the decision to undertake an abortion at 20 weeks by suggesting that it should be made without additional medical or emotional support. We should write laws that empower women to make these decisions. We should support laws that show compassion for women. We should trust individuals to make the best decisions for themselves. We want to empower every single person to reach their full potential.

This country has made great strides in empowering all people, no matter where they started. That is why I am here, to stand as a fierce protector of every life. The human rights and dignity of each person should be reflected in every single piece of legislation we bring to the floor.

This bill asks us to consider whether we, as a society, will tolerate abortion at any point of development, even though we know babies can feel pain at 20 weeks and survive outside the womb. This bill asks us to consider if it is compassionate to maintain a system that does nothing to offer emotional or medical support for a woman facing the most difficult decision of choosing an abortion 5 months into her pregnancy.

These are questions that we must ask, and I am prepared to answer them by supporting the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and I urge my colleagues to reject the motion to recommit.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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