Virginia Foxx: “I want to thank my colleague, Chris Smith, for his leadership on developing this hour, and all of my colleagues who are…”

“I want to thank my colleague, Chris Smith, for his leadership on developing this hour, and all of my colleagues who are here to speak on this very important issue. This week marks the 41st anniversary of a Supreme Court decision which has denied 56 million children the right to life and denied the people of this Nation the ability to govern their country in a manner that aligns with their conscience. I thank my fellow Members for speaking today and marking this somber occasion. Life is a gift from God and should be cherished. It is my strong belief that life begins at conception, and few things demean the sanctity of human life more than elective abortion. The unborn are the most innocent members of our society, and the fact that their right to exist has not been recognized in 41 years is a stain on our Nation's character. As members of the Pro-Life Caucus, we have worked to eliminate taxpayer funding for abortion, fought to preserve pro-life health care providers' rights of conscience. We have followed medical research that indicates infants can feel pain in the womb as early as the 20th week of pregnancy and passed legislation that would eliminate abortion after that time. These are worthy pieces of legislation, but, Mr. Speaker, more must be done. I hope that the day will soon come when the Supreme Court sees fit to overturn Roe and allow the people the ability to eliminate the practice of elective abortion entirely.…”