Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I rise today to speak about yet another Republican attempt to limit women's health care choices.

Congress should be focused on funding the government and keeping our country open for business. Instead, we are wasting our limited legislative days on H.R. 36, a bill that will not pass, and therefore is just for show. This bill is yet another example of a relentless anti-woman agenda. Rather than doing our jobs to keep important government services funded, we are debating a 20-week abortion ban.

The decision to end a pregnancy is a difficult one that involves many factors. Each case is unique, and any decision made is a very private one. Ending a pregnancy after 20 weeks is extremely rare. It is often a medical necessity.

This weekend in the Washington Post a woman bravely wrote about her need to end her pregnancy after the 20-week mark. When Rebecca and her husband went in for a routine checkup, they received the tragic news that her pregnancy was no longer viable. After consulting many physicians and specialists, Rebecca was left with an untenable decision, but she was able to access all of her health care options and get care that was right for her.

This bill would severely limit the ability of women to access vital and necessary health care options. H.R. 36 contains few exceptions, and these exceptions are so burdensome that they may as well not be there.

I have met with providers who stand on the frontlines of this choice debate. Despite threats lobbied at them every day, they work hard to ensure that the United States is a country where women are fully empowered to make decisions about their own health care. These physicians have seen the heartache and agony women experience making this difficult decision. Women should not be subjected to medically unnecessary, financially taxing, and just plain cruel treatment at the behest of some Republican lawmakers.

If my colleagues truly wanted to improve women's health care, they would fund title X programs, bolster the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, and support the Affordable Care Act.

We have no business attempting to legislate a private, constitutionally protected right using unsubstantiated science and hyperbole. In fact, numerous courts have found similar laws by States to be unconstitutional. We need to move on from these votes for show and get back to the real work of the Senate. I am calling this bill what it is: An unnecessary, unwarranted, and likely unconstitutional intrusion into women's private health care decisions.

Meanwhile, time is running out to reach an agreement to keep our government open, and we cannot afford another shutdown. We need to pass a clean continuing resolution to keep the government going. I ask my colleagues to join me in focusing on legislation to improve the lives of every single American. We need legislation that increases access to education, promotes job growth, strengthens our national security, and keeps America vibrant.

I ask my colleagues to join me in voting no on cloture on H.R. 36.

I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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