Mike Collins: “I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. I also thank the gentlewoman from Missouri, who started our night off. I…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. I also thank the gentlewoman from Missouri, who started our night off. I think there has been a lot said as we go forward in bringing this important matter. I want to take just a little bit of a different tack as we talk about the issues of tonight. I believe we are blessed to live in a time when medical research and technology have allowed us to extend and improve human life in ways we never thought possible, and the truth of this matter is that why we are standing here tonight is about life. It is about an understanding of life, and it is about the life not only of the unborn, but also those born, and the right to express the life that is given to them. From the moment of conception, each individual has unique DNA that dictates his or her gender, eye color, blood type, and countless other specifications. Even from his or her earliest moments, a child in the womb has the ability to respond to his or her environment, as well as adapt to that environment. These scientific facts are amazing, but I have an even deeper motivation for protecting human life because I believe life is a gift from God. I believe that that gift from God is also expressed and was expressed by the Founders when they said that they would stand up for the right to express our religious liberties. As Roger Williams was just spoken of, that right to say: This is what I believe, and this is why I am in this country. And that is what we are talking about here.…”