Dan Coats: “this week Pope Francis will be making a historic visit to Washington, DC, to address those of us in Congress and…”

“this week Pope Francis will be making a historic visit to Washington, DC, to address those of us in Congress and millions of Americans across the United States. While I am not a Catholic, one of the tenets of the Catholic Church that I have long respected is adherence and devotion to the sanctity of life. We have an issue before us regarding the very essence of what life is and how life is treated in this country. So my colleagues who don't agree with the legislation before us and who don't even want us to have a debate on this are trying to, through a procedural motion, stop us from moving forward to discuss an issue that ought to be debated before the American people and certainly before this body. It is no secret now that the science has proven that pain can be experienced by an unborn child in the womb. And the taking of that life--many of us believe that life begins at conception, but even if you don't adhere to that, it is now a fact, a pure fact, that it is a viable life at the age of 20 weeks and that life can experience pain. Surgery can be provided for that life. Anesthesia is given to that unborn child in the womb to prevent it from experiencing the pain that may result from surgery that is trying to correct perhaps an abnormality or some condition in the womb and give that child an opportunity to be a healthier baby and to live out the privilege of living.…”