Gus Bilirakis: “I thank the chairman for yielding. It sounds really good to call him Mr. Chairman. He is going to do a great job for us…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding. It sounds really good to call him Mr. Chairman. He is going to do a great job for us and the American people, more importantly. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 26, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Since my first year in office, I have shown a strong commitment to promoting a culture of life. The bill before us requires practitioners who are present for an attempted abortion, resulting in a live birth, to exercise the same degree of care that would be offered to any other child born of that gestational age. After those efforts, the healthcare workers must admit the child to a hospital. This bill also gives mothers a civil cause of action and protection from any prosecution, recognizing that women are the second victims of abortion and attempted abortions. Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation because, surely, we can all agree that a child born alive has a right to live.”