Sean Patrick Maloney: “Today marks the 52d antichoice vote taken on the floor of Congress during the 104th Congress. As one of my colleagues in…”

“Today marks the 52d antichoice vote taken on the floor of Congress during the 104th Congress. As one of my colleagues in the new majority has said, "We intend to repeal choice procedure by procedure." And they are doing it. This is merely another effort to antagonize and terrorize young women like Becky Bruce of Ohio. At 22 weeks, doctors determined a lethal abnormality in her fetus. She and her husband decided to seek an abortion. Much like the abortion protesters who screamed and pointed at her, frightening her at the clinic, this legislation instills the same kind of fear. This bill is an effort to chip away at the overall law of the land. Abortion is legal and safe. We cannot begin to make exceptions now. The antichoice supporters of this bill would love to start here, today, moving from their positions as lawmakers to become personal physicians. When women seek medical care, Congress has no place in their choices and no place in their tragedies. Apparently the supporters of this bill believe that it is more important to save a doomed fetus than to save the life and the health of its mother. Had my colleagues in the majority allowed an amendment with an appropriate exception for the life or physical health of the mother, I would have supported this bill.”