Norvell Emerson: “I want to express my absolute support for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. I thank the gentleman from Florida for all…”

“I want to express my absolute support for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. I thank the gentleman from Florida for all of his hard work on this bill, and I join all of those who believe in the basic value of human life in working for passage of this important legislation. The truth of the matter is that partial-birth abortion is a horrendous act of murder. It is not a late-term abortion, it is not a necessary medical procedure. Such phrases conceal the brutal and inhumane reality. The details of a partial-birth abortion are horrible beyond words, and the law must not continue to condone so terrible an atrocity. Today this Congress and this Nation has the opportunity to take an affirmative stand for the basic value of human life. We might talk for hours about the medical evidence, the detailed studies, and the expert testimony, all of which would tell us that the ban on partial-birth abortions is the right and just thing. However, we must always keep in mind that the fundamental issue is the life of an unborn child and the value that our Nation places on that life. This is the matter before the Congress, which is why we must make certain to pass the ban. To ban the partial-birth abortion is to say that America will not tolerate the cruelty and inhumanity that it represents.”