Jerry Nadler: “I rise to support the DeGette amendment to strike the ban on abortion funding for women in Federal prison. This ban is…”

“I rise to support the DeGette amendment to strike the ban on abortion funding for women in Federal prison. This ban is cruel, unnecessary, and unwarranted. Mr. Chairman, a woman's sentence should not include forcing her to carry a pregnancy to term. Most women in prison are poor, have little or no access to outside financial help, and earn extremely low wages from prison jobs. Inmates in general work 40 hours a week and earn between 12 to 40 cents per hour. They totally depend on the health services they receive from their institutions. Most female prisoners are unable to finance their own abortions, and, therefore, are in effect denied their constitutional right to an abortion. Many women prisoners are victims of physical or sexual abuse and are pregnant before entering prison. In addition, they will almost certainly be forced to give up their children at birth. Why should we add to their anguish by denying them access to reproductive services? We ought to keep this debate in perspective. We are not talking about many women. Statistics show that in fiscal year 1997, of the approximately 8,000 women in Federal prison, only 16 had abortions, and there were only 75 births. So this is a small group of people, and we should understand that as we continue this debate. The ban on abortions does not stop thousands of abortions from taking place; rather, it places an unconstitutional burden on a few women facing a difficult situation.”