Bill Lee: “I thank the ranking member for yielding and for his tremendous leadership on so many issues. Madam Speaker, I stand in…”

“I thank the ranking member for yielding and for his tremendous leadership on so many issues. Madam Speaker, I stand in strong opposition to this bill, which is really just another attempt to criminalize abortion and limit access to the full range of reproductive healthcare for women. This so-called Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is another cynical attack on a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions. It is unnecessary and it simply pitches a false narrative to the American people in order to intimidate women and providers. Madam Speaker, in 2002, Congress passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that acknowledges the rights of any child born alive in this country, and affirms that any infant should receive appropriate medical care. That is a given, and everyone believes that. Republicans are distorting the truth about current law. This legislation before us is a step too far. It interferes with medical practice by enforcing extreme new standards of care through criminal and civil penalties on providers. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.”