On the recordMay 13, 2015
I thank my friend for yielding. Madam Speaker, my Republican colleagues have no interest in preventing abortions after 20 weeks. The motivation behind H.R. 36 could not be more transparent. They want to make abortion after 20 weeks illegal and abortions before 20 weeks impossible. Consider the story of a young woman named Josephine, who recently moved to Florida from Texas with her two kids after escaping an abusive husband. While trying to build a stable home for her children, she was raped, and she became pregnant. She couldn't afford an abortion or a trip to her provider who was more than 80 miles away, so Josephine attempted to terminate the pregnancy herself by ingesting poison. She ended up hospitalized, needing several blood transfusions. She was still pregnant. By the time she gathered enough resources to cover her procedure and transportation to a provider nearly 80 miles away, she was 23 weeks pregnant. If this Republican majority were to have its way, Josephine would be denied access to a safe and legal abortion. From regulating providers out of business, to requiring waiting periods, to mandating counseling and medically unnecessary ultrasounds, this Republican majority has made securing an abortion--has made exercising a woman's constitutional right--a long and expensive process. Let's reject this bill and, instead, work to ensure that all women can control their own bodies, their own health, and their own destinies.
