Joe Pitts: “this truly is a historic moment in the House. I want to commend the chairman and the subcommittee chairman for their…”

“this truly is a historic moment in the House. I want to commend the chairman and the subcommittee chairman for their leadership on this issue. The subcommittee chairman spoke about Brenda Pratt Shafer who, in 1993, a nurse with 13 years' experience, was assigned to an abortion clinic by her nursing agency. She was, quote, very pro-choice at the time. We have heard her actual words as she describes the procedure, what she saw. Ms. Shafer never returned to that clinic after witnessing that partial-birth abortion. Those in favor of this procedure believe that Roe v. Wade is sacrosanct, that we should leave this pressing moral question to the whims of the unelected judges across the street. This type of abortion, partial-birth abortion, is more like a legal technicality. The baby must be delivered feet first so that the doctor actually forces the head to stay in the birth canal. Otherwise, he would be born and actually breathe. Most people would call this murder. But right now it is just a technicality. There is no excuse for this procedure in a civilized nation. I urge my colleagues to vote for this conference report.”