On the recordAugust 1, 2012
I thank the gentlelady from Minnesota for yielding, and thank you for your stalwart and courageous stand for life tonight. Women deserve better than abortion, and of course celebrating an extraordinary organization such as Priests for Life who have tried to heal the wounded and protect those who are most vulnerable is, of course, an extraordinary cause. Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues and I gather on the floor, I am going to turn the subject to another matter because we are marking what could possibly be considered one of the most significant turning points in the history of our Nation. But it is not a cause for celebration. In America, where we have a legacy of principle that undergirds our Nation and makes it possible to create prosperity--not just material means, but a flourishing of the potential of each person--where does that principle come from? Well, we've all heard the line from the earliest of our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, which goes like this: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is the operative philosophical paradigm of our culture, so much so we don't even think about it--that our rights are not conferred by a king or a government. They are inherent, based upon the dignity of each person.…
