Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to share my concern for the extraordinary lengths that my colleagues across the aisle will go in order to rip away a chance at life from unborn children.

H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, is a deceptive ploy to circumvent the authority of States to set their own laws about abortion procedures or, more plainly, the procedures that violently end an unborn child's life.

On June 24, the Nation received historical news from the highest court in the land that Roe v. Wade had been overturned. This decision was an answer to nearly 50 years of prayer and a decision that rights a wrong that was committed in the very same court almost half a century ago.

The Supreme Court ruling verified that our Constitution gives no protections for abortion procedures. Abortion was never a constitutional right, and that has been the big lie to millions of women for the past 50 years. It was determined that this decision should not be mandated by Washington but chosen by the people through their State legislatures.

The Ensuring Access to Abortion Act is not only a blatant attempt to undermine State sovereignty; it also opens the door to incredibly dangerous consequences.

For one, the bill would restrict enforcement of State laws that require physicians to be present when chemical abortions are administered. This supervision is a safety measure to ensure that a patient does not have an ectopic pregnancy, which could lead to fatal consequences.

The primary pillar of the pro-life movement is that all life is precious. We must consider the health implications of women who receive an abortion or partial procedure across State lines and return to their home State in need of dire medical attention.

Women who have abortion procedures face a myriad of increased risks that can occur later. Sterilization, miscarriage, and tubal pregnancies are not uncommon.

Are we to assume that the responsibility for treatment of these subsequent health risks falls on the State whose laws were circumvented? Because that is what would ultimately happen.

And as a woman in Congress, I urge my colleagues to look at how this legislation puts at-risk minors and women in vulnerable positions. The language in this bill is so vague that it makes no consideration for abusers, those abusers that transport minors across State lines to receive abortions after their abuse.

We can't afford to be vague and allow blanket protection for anyone assisting in an abortion. We cannot be that naive, especially when these procedures have life and death consequences.

To be clear, not a single State has banned interstate travel for women seeking abortion. This bill isn't about protecting women from the State; it is about dramatically restricting States from protecting their citizens and forcing pro-life States to absorb the burden of safety complications that follow the superseding of their protective measures.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to think about the damaging consequences.

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Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to think about the damaging consequences of taking power from the States. Not only does it set a dangerous precedent of Federal overreach and taking power from the people, but it also has terrifying health implications for expectant mothers and at-risk youth, and the protection of bad actors.

I will always be a steadfast defender of an unborn child's right to live, and I will never back down from a fight to protect women and those unborn children. We cannot put both at risk with this damaging legislation.

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