Jasper Packard: “today I rise to discuss a procedure that I find--and an overwhelming number of Americans find--absolutely abhorrent…”

“today I rise to discuss a procedure that I find--and an overwhelming number of Americans find--absolutely abhorrent, partial birth abortion. It is brutal and inhumane. It is not necessary and should not be permitted. Last year, when we brought a bill to the floor to ban the practice, abortion advocates falsely claimed the procedure was both rare and a necessary late term procedure. The President vetoed our bill based on this misrepresentation. Finally, the media got wind of the lie. Ron Fitzsimmons, leader of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, in a March 3, 1997, interview with the American Medical News, said that he ``lied through [his] teeth'' when he said the procedure was rarely used. He now admits that pro-life groups are accurate in saying that the procedure is more common. To add insult to injury, Mr. Fitzsimmons also admitted that, in the vast majority of cases, the partial-birth abortion procedure is performed on a healthy mother with a healthy fetus that is 20 or more weeks along. Americans overwhelmingly oppose this form of elective infanticide. It has no place in our society. This practice is indefensible, and I challenge my colleagues to give the President another chance to ban the procedure. The President can no longer hide behind pro-abortion falsehoods. He should admit he was wrong and show the moral courage Americans expect from their President.”