Steve Cohen: “Thank you, Mr. McGovern. Mr. Speaker, the fact is that pain is a subterfuge. This bill is not about pain to the fetus.…”

“Thank you, Mr. McGovern. Mr. Speaker, the fact is that pain is a subterfuge. This bill is not about pain to the fetus. This bill is about outlawing abortion and repealing Roe v. Wade. The other side knows that the Supreme Court has set out in Roe v. Wade the conditions of viability, and viability is 22-24 weeks. Well, they couldn't get past that in the Court, they knew they couldn't, so they created this new class of when the baby, the child, can feel pain. They found a doctor that said he assumes they can feel pain, and they base their whole premise on that, an argument to try to repeal Roe v. Wade and to not give the women of this country the opportunity to exercise choice on their own lives and when they produce children. This has been the law in this country since 1973. I consider it the right law. I was in law school when the Supreme Court brought down Roe v. Wade. It was progress, and we continue to march forward, but the other side wants to stop progress. If they could outlaw all abortions, they would do it, and this is the first step toward doing it. They don't provide for the life of the mother in the bill. They don't provide for exceptions for rape and incest, and they didn't allow any amendments because they knew if they had amendments they would carry, and the full rape and incest exceptions which are in the law today would be put on this bill, and that would be difficult for them to swallow. This is a sham on pain.…”