Louise Slaughter: “Mr. Speaker, if I could respond to my friend from Washington State, anyone who impregnates a 12-year-old girl has…”

“Mr. Speaker, if I could respond to my friend from Washington State, anyone who impregnates a 12-year-old girl has committed statutory rape and should be imprisoned for a very long time, and I hope he was. But the issue is then, the 12-year-old girl; should she be forced to carry a child to term? That is probably where we have a division of opinion. I think requiring girls as young as 9 years old to bear children is a question that society needs to talk about. I think it is barbaric. We certainly live in a strange time. This body has for years attempted to take away a woman's control over her reproductive system at the same time that it rejoices over the introduction of Viagra! Congress believes it is wise enough to outlaw medical procedures it doesn't like--perhaps vasectomy should require parental consent so at least that would ease the double standard.”