Marcy Kaptur: “I thank the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Woolsey, for calling us together tonight on such an important…”

“I thank the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Woolsey, for calling us together tonight on such an important topic and rise to speak for decent health insurance for all of our people as essential to respecting life, to preserving life, and to protecting life from the very beginning to the very end. The health system we have now does not adequately respect, protect, or preserve life. In fact, America doesn't even rank in the top 12 of global nations in terms of the quality of our health care. That is truly shocking. Yet we spend enormous amounts of money, and yet so many people are left out. There's not time to talk about all of them tonight in 5 minutes, so I am pleased to join my colleagues in focusing on women and children of this great Nation who need health care reform. In our country, every year, more than a half million, 530,000 babies, one out of every eight, are born premature in our country. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death and a major cause of lifelong disability. These outcomes are morally wrong, and they are ultimately very expensive, very expensive to our society, most expensive to those children.”