Chris Smith: “I thank my good friend for yielding, for his passion, for his courage, and for authoring the Pain- Capable Unborn Child…”

“I thank my good friend for yielding, for his passion, for his courage, and for authoring the Pain- Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and for doing so so informed. Trent Franks has been an incredible defender of life, and I want to thank him for his leadership on this extraordinarily important human rights piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, overwhelming majorities of Americans, some 60 to 64 percent, according to the pollsters, support legal protection for pain- capable unborn children. Today, we know that unborn babies not only die but suffer excruciating pain during dismemberment abortions, a cruelty that rips arms and legs off of helpless children. A former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, testified before Congress, before Trent Franks' committee. Here is a man who has performed 1,200 abortions, over 100 late-term abortions up to 24 weeks; and he said, and I quote in part: ``Imagine if you can that you are a pro-choice obstetrician/gynecologist like I was.'' Using a sopher 13 clamp with rows of ridges or teeth, ``grasp anything you can'' inside the womb. ``Once you've grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard, really hard. You feel something let go and out pops a fully formed leg about 6 inches long.…”