On the recordJanuary 22, 2015
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding. I, too, rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill. Today, on the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we should be celebrating it, not dismantling it. I heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about pain. Well, do you want to know about pain? Think back in horror to the perils for our mothers, our daughters, and our sisters in the days before the Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to make our own personal health care decisions. Back then, our country faced a public health crisis as women were maimed, made sterile, and lost their lives as a result of self- inflicted or illegal abortions. I remember finding a friend who was near death as a result of a back alley procedure. Since Roe v. Wade, State after State, including Florida, my home State, has passed onerous laws criminalizing doctors, requiring unnecessary tests, and other insidious obstructions to prevent access to abortion. Today, Congress again piles on to the damage hurting the poorest of our citizens. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
