William Helms: “I have sent to the desk a slate of legislation that addresses a number of our Nation's most pressing social problems. I…”

“I have sent to the desk a slate of legislation that addresses a number of our Nation's most pressing social problems. I have introduced a great many of these bills in prior Congressional sessions and Senators who have been around for a while will find these proposals familiar. Nonetheless, I shall devote a few minutes to explain the importance of these bills and why it is so crucial to address permissive social policies that are creating a moral and spiritual crisis in our country. I am delighted, Mr. President, that our Nation's economy has grown and prospered for the last two years--helped along, not incidentally, by the responsible fiscal policies insisted upon by the Republican Congress. But the good news on the financial pages is too often overshadowed by utterly horrifying stories elsewhere, stories which detail a moral sickness at the heart of our culture, stories which chronicle the devaluation of human life in our society, symbolized by the tragic 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade. The most notorious of these appalling stories was the episode involving a young New Jersey woman who in May of 1997 gave birth to an infant in a public bathroom stall during her senior prom. She then strangled her newborn baby boy, placed the body in a trash can, adjusted her makeup, and returned to the dance floor. Mr. President, this chilling tale cries out that something is badly wrong in the culture that produced it.”