On the recordMay 30, 2012
I thank the gentleman from Arizona for his leadership on this issue and many other issues, and I come to the floor here in strong support of the PRENDA Act. The very idea of sex-selection abortion, gendercide, as it was so aptly named, brought back to mind for me a story that I heard from a man whom I admired. His name was Gil Copper. Sadly, we lost him back in 2010. Gil Copper was a World War II veteran who volunteered with Merrill's Marauders in Asia and marched across those areas in India and Burma to take on the Japanese behind the scenes. Gil Copper picked up and was awarded one Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, one Combat Infantry Badge, and one Purple Heart. Gil Copper spent his time off in Asia under the bridge in New Delhi, India, standing in the Ganges River listening for the splash. Standing there day or night, any time he had off, he was listening for the splash of a little baby girl that would often and regularly be tossed off the bridge into the river to drown because the culture in India cherished boys and didn't cherish girls. Gil Copper would swim out there and pick up those little girls that were floating then in the filthy Ganges River and swim back with them and dry them off and carry them to the Catholic orphanage in New Delhi. He saved scores of lives during that period of time. That culture has arrived here in this country, and this bill puts an end to that kind of culture that would select baby girls for death.
