Zoe Lofgren: “I oppose this bill, and I would urge my colleagues in the House, who believe that Roe versus Wade should be upheld and…”

“I oppose this bill, and I would urge my colleagues in the House, who believe that Roe versus Wade should be upheld and honored because it protects the reproductive choice of women in America, to vote against this bill. I will offer later today a substitute to the underlying bill that will accomplish what the author of this bill says he wants to do. Obviously, I believe that it is wrong to assault women. If the assault causes a miscarriage, that is a grievous harm and deserves to be punished. What the underlying bill does, however, is to create an unprecedented right for the fetus that is not permissible under Roe versus Wade. Indeed, it flies in the face of Roe's holding. More than that, as one speaker during the discussion of the rule pointed out, should this bill ever become law, it will be almost impossible for a prosecutor to actually use this bill in any effort to go after someone who might engage in the unbelievably odious behavior contemplated by the bill, namely, assaulting a woman and causing her to miscarry. I want my colleagues to understand the obvious, that those of us who oppose the underlying bill do not condone violence against women.”