On the recordMay 13, 2015
As a medical doctor, I took an oath to protect lives. As a cardiothoracic surgeon for many years, I worked day and night to save lives in the operating room. Today, I stand proudly with my colleagues here on the House floor to defend the lives of those poor, innocent unborn children who don't have anybody else to stand up to defend them. The scientific evidence is clear: unborn babies feel pain. They feel pain at 20 weeks postfertilization. This bill bans late-term abortions, with very limited exceptions. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the United States is currently one of only seven countries worldwide, including North Korea and China, that allows elective late-term abortions. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates enacting this bill will save 2,750 lives each year. Twenty-four States, including my home State of Louisiana, have already acted to ban these late-term abortions. I urge my colleagues to be compassionate. I urge my colleagues to support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act so that unborn lives in all 50 States are protected from painful late-term abortions.
