Joe Pitts: “partial-birth abortion is one of the most violent and gruesome acts known to mankind. It is hard to believe that it is…”

“partial-birth abortion is one of the most violent and gruesome acts known to mankind. It is hard to believe that it is legal at all in a Nation that was founded on the principle of human rights. Some years ago it was believed that partial-birth abortion was a very rare procedure only performed in the direst of emergencies. That was not true. The fact is there are some people in this country who are so radical and extreme in their defense of abortion that they are willing even to lie to defend this violent kind of act. Five years ago, the executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers told the New York Times that he had lied about how often partial-birth abortions are performed, lied about how healthy the mothers were, and lied about the viability of the children who were needlessly killed and, in fact, he said he ``lied through his teeth.'' His words, not mine. More often than not, this is a baby that would have every chance of surviving if it were delivered normally, and usually the baby has developed well beyond the stage where it can feel every bit of pain we would feel if we were subjected to the same procedure. We have heard the horrific procedure described here on the floor. Understand that the baby is given no anesthetic or painkiller of any kind. Imagine being stabbed in the back of the neck with a pair of scissors. Imagine how it must hurt. That is how much it hurts the baby.”