Friday, January 19, 2018

Hartzler backs Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

(From Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) this morning spoke in favor of H.R. 4712, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which the House passed later this afternoon by a vote of 241 - 183.

Text of the speech follows:


Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I have written remarks here, but after what I just heard, I’ve got to change what I was going to share. The idea that you could oppose this bill under the ruse [that you’re] helping children and mothers is absolutely preposterous. The reason that we need this bill is because – yes, we did pass legislation in 2002 saying that a baby, if they are born during an abortion procedure, deserves life, but the problem is, [that law] is not being followed.

You can go out in the hall and visit with some nurses who have come here, who have experienced the traumatic trauma of witnessing a baby born and then put in a plastic bag and suffocated to death.

You can visit with the nurses that I have met, that found a baby in a soiled closet that was born alive and put there to die.

You can visit with a young mother named Angele, who unexpectedly gave birth to a baby boy in an abortion clinic, and once she saw that baby she changed her mind. She wanted it to live. Her friend called the paramedics, but the clinic staff turned the medical team away, denying live-saving care for her baby. The little baby boy died in the mother’s arms as she rocked it and comforted it, showering it with love.

The reason this bill is needed is because it puts penalties on those health care officials who refuse to provide medical care, [who] refuse to follow the law that you state you support.

And so if you truly support life, if you support these babies, if you support the mother, then put some teeth in this legislation and make sure it is followed.

I urge you [and everyone here] to support it. I yield back.

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