On the recordMarch 14, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for his comments. Mr. Speaker, we need to remind people that these pro-life pregnancy centers are private entities. They run on private donations. They provide services at no charge to these mothers. In some pregnancy centers--a lot of them, for instance--they will have a room that is just full of supplies, supplies to help a mother, to help a mother in a crisis pregnancy get through the pregnancy, take care of that child, and to give that child the very precious gift of life. Mr. Speaker, I would next yield to the gentleman from Michigan for comments he might make on the importance of pregnancy centers. While he is getting to the microphone, let me just tell you a story that one of the pregnancy crisis centers told me. Again, these are centers that frequently now provide ultrasound exams. And they tell me the story of a woman who called the helpline seeking an abortion, actually. She called the pregnancy center helpline. She knew very little about the emotional, physical, or spiritual repercussions of the choice she was considering. She felt alone, told by her boyfriend to ``get rid of it'' or he was gone. But the pregnancy center gave her a choice. They scheduled an appointment. She came for the appointment. And after seeing her 9-week- old baby's heartbeat and it move about playfully in her womb, she decided to give this child the gift of life. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga).





