On the recordFebruary 17, 2011
I don't doubt that the gentleman from Indiana is sincere. We all know him, and we know the longstanding commitment that he has had to this issue. But having served on the Judiciary Committee with the late Chairman Henry Hyde, I know how sincere he was in the work that he did to ensure that no Federal funds could be used for abortion. That is the law of the land. I also know how committed our colleague from Massachusetts is to his values of pro-life; but he eloquently stood on the floor of the House and gave us a moral compass. This is not about abortion. This is about saving lives. And the Planned Parenthood effort, albeit with ills that any large organization may have--corrected ills, has a valuable and worthy purpose in saving lives. My fear is with the Pence amendment having the potential of passing, that we set the stage for going back 10, 20, 30, 40 years when women had no place to seek counseling. They know well that the adherence to the law that the Planned Parenthood organization must have is that they cannot use Federal funds for abortion. But this is not about abortion. This is about family planning and counseling services that have long been part of the Planned Parenthood family. And all we'll do by cutting these resources will be, in fact, going back to the dark ages when young women had no place to go. So Planned Parenthood does not equate to abortion. Family planning does not equate to abortion.
