Political Quotes

“a short while ago, I had the opportunity to meet with a very special family from Newton, IA. Micha Pickering, an adorable, energetic 3-year-old boy was born prematurely at just 22 weeks gestational age--the equivalent of 20 weeks after fertilization, the method of measurement in the bill before us. You will notice the picture I have in the Chamber. This is Micah, that energetic 3-year-old boy. He was just in the office when this picture was in there, and Micah ran up and said: That's me. And then he said: That's a baby. This is Micah when he was born. We are talking about 5 months. Think about that for a minute. Micah's parents and the doctors and nurses at the University of Iowa hospitals and clinics were dedicated to his survival. Micah's mother Danielle has recounted the first time she got to meet her son in the hospital: The second I was able to meet Micah changed my life. He was so small. I didn't know what to expect. Would he look `normal'? Could I bond with this baby? Those questions were a mess in my head as I was wheeled into his room two hours after his birth. The sight I saw was a perfectly formed baby. We didn't understand at the time that Micah was right on time, but now we do. . . . You can be knowledgeable on every part of prematurity, but that does not change the fact that Micah was just as much full of life at 22.4 weeks as he is now at almost 3 years old. I can attest that this little boy pictured behind me is indeed full of life.…”