Abortion

Floor Speech

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Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today highlighting the momentous occasion for not only my home State of Mississippi but for our entire Nation. Senator Roger Wicker and I could not be prouder of our State.

Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a challenge to a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. This law, the Gestational Age Act, was introduced by my friend, Mississippi State Representative Becky Currie, and was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant in 2018.

This case presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Court to reconsider decades of misguided abortion law that began with Roe v. Wade and has continued under Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

There is no doubt that this case is the most significant pro-life legal opening in half a century and, certainly, in my lifetime. I am very proud that my State of Mississippi is in the center of this.

In the 48 years since the decision in Roe v. Wade, 62 million unborn babies have lost their lives. This is a terrible moral stain on our Nation that we have a chance to reverse at long last.

There are many reasons for the Supreme Court to reconsider its course. For one, medical technology has made significant advances-- especially with ultrasound technology--making clear what those of us in the pro-life movement already knew: that unborn children are human beings.

Thanks in large part to the ultrasound technology, we now know that, by 15 weeks, an unborn baby has a fully developed heart with a strong heartbeat, responds to touch, and can make facial expressions, yawn, hiccup, and suck their thumbs.

For another, the United States is a real outlier in the world when it comes to the abortion issue. We are one of only seven countries that allow abortions on demand up until the moment of birth, along with the likes of China and North Korea.

The Supreme Court should uphold Mississippi's law, bringing our Nation closer to the international consensus on human rights for the unborn.

As a legislator, I am confident in saying it is time for our laws to reflect what the rest of the world has already figured out: that life exists before birth and it needs to be protected. The only difference between a fetus and a first grader is 6 years.

Since the Supreme Court announced it would take up the Dobbs case, I have been earnestly praying for this case. I pray for the Members of the Supreme Court to be open to the legal and moral arguments against Roe v. Wade. May God grant them the wisdom for the task and grace for the unborn.

I have also been praying for my friend Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, our State's solicitor general, Scott Stuart, and the many others in the AG's office who have worked tirelessly to represent our State so well in this case.

With the oral arguments scheduled for tomorrow morning, I pray that God would grant them all confidence and courage, as well as the right words to say in the Court.

Most of all, I have been praying for all the unborn children whose right to life hangs in the balance of this case.

Throughout this time, I have kept the words of I Samuel 1:27 close to my heart: ``For this child I have prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition, which I asked of him.''

So today, tonight, and tomorrow morning, I will be praying without ceasing. I hope each of you will join me in prayer for this historic court decision that started in Mississippi.

May the Dobbs case restore the sanctity of life and reverse the moral stain of Roe v. Wade.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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