Elijah Lewis: “this is not a debate that should be occurring in the Congress today. This is not a decision for us, for legislators, for…”

“this is not a debate that should be occurring in the Congress today. This is not a decision for us, for legislators, for policymakers. We are not men and women of medicine, of science. I am not a doctor; I did not go to medical school. We have no business telling doctors how to practice medicine. No government, Federal, State or local, should tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body. Decisions about health, decisions about medicine, decisions about conscience, are not for us to make. These decisions should be left in the homes, churches, and synagogues of women facing these hard, wrenching decisions. This is an issue between a woman and her family, a woman and her doctor, a woman and her conscience, a woman and her God. Let us not invade the homes of American women, the hospital, and the health care centers. Let us not attempt to play doctor. Let us not attempt to play God. Let us say no to politicians in the bedrooms, the family rooms, and the operating rooms. Mr. Speaker, let us say no to this ill-conceived bill.”