Jeff Fortenberry: “I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Madam Speaker, Americans deserve to know how the government spends their…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Madam Speaker, Americans deserve to know how the government spends their money, and they are right to refuse the use of their tax dollars for highly controversial activities--in this case, abortion. Let me first make my own position clear. I am pro-life, and I believe that women deserve better than abortion; but certainly, we can all agree that the U.S. Government should not take tax dollars from hardworking Americans to fund abortion. I really believe it is time that we look at the reality of abortion, that we be honest and see the choice for what it is. It is interesting to note that the early feminist movement recognized that abortion is a fundamental injustice. Abortion harms women. It takes the lives of children, and it allows a man to escape his responsibility. The abortion industry many times profits from all of this pain. Abortion is also so often the result of psychological or physical coercion or even emotional or physical abandonment, which is a tragic social paradigm that has caused a deep wound in the soul of our country. No matter how difficult the circumstances, Madam Speaker, I believe we can and must do better as a society, and at a minimum, taxpayer dollars should not be involved. This issue has manifested itself again most intently during the health care debate. Unless a prohibition is enacted, taxpayers will fund abortion under the framework of the new health care law.…”