Expressing the Sense of Congress Condemning the Recent Attacks on Pro- Life Facilities, Groups, and Churches
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this woefully incomplete resolution.
I will begin by saying that I condemn violence in all its forms, including the threats, vandalism, and property destruction described in H. Con. Res. 3. I would also like to reiterate my condemnation of the attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. That should go without saying.
I am grateful that no one appears to have been physically injured in the vandalism incidents described in the resolution, and that law enforcement took Justice Kavanaugh's would-be assassin into custody before he could complete an act of violence.
In a democracy, violence is never the answer in a political dispute, and it should be roundly condemned in all its forms.
This resolution, however, is a transparent partisan ploy that is a woefully and unacceptably inadequate condemnation of violence. It comes in the context of extremist MAGA Republicans' effort to enact a total ban on abortion at both the State and Federal levels. In what appears to be a glaring omission to H. Con. Res. 3, my Republican colleagues refused to condemn the long, documented history of violence, murder, and mayhem perpetrated by anti-abortion extremists against abortion providers and their patients.
According to the National Abortion Federation, since 1977 anti- abortion extremists have been responsible for 11 murders, 42 bombings, 196 arsons, 491 assaults, and thousands of incidents of criminal activities directed at patients, providers, and volunteers.
Sadly, these incidents have increased dramatically in recent years. In 2021, abortion providers faced a 600 percent increase in stalking incidents, a 450 percent increase in clinic blockades, a 163 percent increase in reports of hoax devices or suspicious packages, a 129 percent increase in invasions, and a 128 percent increase in assault and battery compared to previous years.
In some cases, violence against abortion providers has had deadly consequences. For example, in November 2015 a gunman murdered three people and injured nine others when he opened fire with an assault- style rifle at a Planned Parenthood health center in Colorado Springs.
In January 2021, a gunman attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, and later that year, the same clinic was burned to the ground by arsonists.
Regardless of your position on abortion rights, Madam Speaker, it is important that we condemn all acts of violence, regardless of who is the ultimate target. I am concerned that by refusing to condemn violence against providers, this resolution will inadvertently send a signal to anti-abortion extremists that violence against abortion providers is justified by the vandalism described in the resolution.
If this inadequate resolution could potentially fan the flames of political discord, what purpose then does it serve?
The only purpose I can infer is that it is intended to placate the extreme elements of the anti-abortion movement while this Republican majority figures out how to pass a total nationwide ban on abortion.
Let me be clear: Democrats stand with the majority of the American public and will oppose such a radical position.
H. Con. Res. 3 is nothing more than a partisan political ploy designed to advance an extreme anti-abortion agenda and is not a serious effort to condemn political violence. Indeed, it may have the opposite effect on the American public because it purposely fails to condemn the thousands of threats, violent incidents, and attacks that abortion providers and patients have endured for decades at the hands of anti-abortion extremists.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, the resolution condemns violence at pro- life clinics but not at pro-choice clinics. That says it all.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, this is a solemn moment. I join my fellow colleagues, the women of the Democratic Caucus, to stand here because we stand in the name of those who have died: 11 murders, 42 bombings, 196 arsons, 491 assaults, and thousands of incidents of criminal activity directed at our doctors, our nurses, and our patients.
After COVID-19, America woke up to the vitality and the necessity of our medical professionals, but I come here today to express my concern. I wish my friend from Louisiana had worked with my side of the aisle so that we would acknowledge that there has been loss of life of innocent persons who simply were providing medical care.
Dr. David Gunn was shot and killed by an opponent of abortion during a protest. A former pastor kills a doctor and clinic volunteer. George Tiller, twice a target, is killed.
This legislation is an extreme initiative because it is not here to acknowledge the solemnity of which we stand, first to recognize the constitutional right of a woman, her doctor, and her faith to be able to make a decision without fear and intimidation.
In a State like mine, we have vigilantism because it has passed legislation for bounty hunters to come back again from the 1800s to intimidate doctors, nurses, and patients.
This is a day that we must stand against. If we are to work together in this solemn moment, we must recognize all the doctors, nurses, and patients that have been intimidated.
The National Abortion Federation, in 2021, indicated that there has been an increase in violence. The significant increases in stalking, 600 percent; blockades, 450 percent; hoax devices/suspicious packages, 163 percent; invasions, 129 percent; and assault and battery, 128 percent.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to oppose this legislation. Maybe we can, in solemnity, work together on this serious issue.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H. Res. 3, a concurrent resolution that expresses the sense of Congress condemning the recent attacks on pro-life facilities, groups, and churches.
It is critically important that we opposed the Republican effort to rewrite history in a way that demonizes the victims and glorifies the aggressors.
Each American has the right to make their own healthcare decisions according to their own beliefs values, and conscience.
Republicans hope to strip women of their constitutional right of autonomy over their own body and their right to make their own healthcare decisions.
In Texas, Republicans have incentivized vigilantism and stalking by passing a law that provides civilians a cause of action against anyone who performs or aids an abortion and provides for a $10,000 cash reward if successful.
This resolution ignores the long-documented history of violence against abortion providers, their staff, and their patients and attempts to rewrite the facts.
According to Bloomberg, a survey of 390 clinics showed that assaults on abortion providers surged 128 percent in 2021 with reports of kicking, slapping and being pepper sprayed.
The National Abortion Federation 2021 Violence & Disruption Report, found a massive increase in violence and disruption against abortion providers.
The most significant increases were in stalking (600 percent), blockades (450 percent), hoax devices/suspicious packages (163 percent), invasions (129 percent), and assault and battery (128 percent) compared to 2020.
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit that tracks political violence and demonstrations, asserts that anti- government militias and extremist groups like the Proud Boys appearance at abortion related events spiked 160 percent in 2021, compared to the previous year.
Further, in 2020, far-right groups appeared at only 1 percent of demonstrations related to abortion rights; in 2022, almost one in five events involved members of a far-right group.
This violence, harassment, and cyberbullying against those who seek abortions, their providers, and supporters is unconscionable.
The American public made it clear last November that they want Congress to protect reproductive freedom.
We stand with all women, and staunchly reject the misinformation in this bill and its attempt to cover up the attacks on basic human dignity and constitutional rights.
I urge all my colleagues to oppose this outrageous and dangerous resolution.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman).
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise because I am appalled that this is how my Republican colleagues have chosen to start this majority.
It appears that actually legislating is too great a challenge for my colleagues, who have no apparent plan to address the real issues facing our country, including the rising tide of violent extremism.
H. Con. Res. 3 condemns violence against anti-abortion organizations. It says nothing about the violence against abortion providers that has gone largely unaddressed for nearly 50 years. Last year, I supported legislation that offered real solutions to rising violence against abortion providers.
Madam Speaker, I would be happy to work with my colleagues on fixing H. Con. Res. 3 to actually acknowledge the rising violence, but I cannot and will not support it in its current form, and I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no.''
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), the ranking member of the Small Business Committee.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel).
Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Madam Speaker, my, my, my, here we go again.
First off, let's all condemn the violence on the streets of our country.
This resolution is a political ploy and a distraction from the violence that abortion providers and patients face every day.
Bombings, murder, arson; let's condemn these, too.
Madam Speaker, women across our country are being denied lifesaving care, and healthcare providers are being punished for doing their jobs.
Women deserve access to all forms of health services, including abortion and the freedom to make decisions about their health and their lives and their future without interference of politicians.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution which sidetracks us from the real danger women and healthcare providers are facing today: The Republican agenda.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, it is time for our Republican colleagues to stop playing politics with women's bodies.
With the fall of Roe, the criminalization of abortion access nationwide with no exceptions is well underway.
Just last year in my home State of Florida, Governor DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban into law that offers no exceptions for rape, incest, or human trafficking, and more restrictive policies are coming.
Other States are even more restrictive, and the bill and resolution before us will further erode women's reproductive rights. These measures incentivize violence by failing to condemn a history of violence against abortion providers and patients.
While millions of Americans will lose under these measures, its harshest impacts land on single, working, and women of color.
A lack of access to safe abortions not only deprives a woman of the basic right to control her own body, but it also stifles her future economic, educational, and family planning opportunities. It basically hands her body, life, and future over to the State.
These horrific anti-abortion measures are a revolting assault on women's rights, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on both measures.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost), for whom I think this is his first speech on the floor.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.
Madam Speaker, if House Republicans were serious about condemning violence surrounding the debate on abortion, the resolution would be clear in condemning all acts of violence, lest we give tacit acquiescence to extremist anti-abortion violence and against abortion providers. This resolution does not do that at all.
Undoubtedly, my Republican colleagues will attempt to portray any opposition to this partisan resolution as proof of Democrats' so-called extreme position on abortion, but the American public is not so easily fooled.
They will recognize this resolution for what it is, a transparent political exercise intended to lay the groundwork for MAGA Republicans' plans for a total nationwide ban on abortion.
Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``no,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source