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Floor Speech

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Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, who also chairs the Pro-Life Caucus of the U.S. Senate. I want to thank her for organizing this event today because we just passed the 3-year anniversary of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. That was on June 24, 2022.

That decision was a pivotal moment in our Nation's history. Roe v. Wade was the worst Supreme Court decision, I would argue, since Plessy v. Ferguson and resulted in the tragic deaths of millions of innocent lives.

Countless numbers of precious, unborn lives have been saved. In fact, since Roe was overturned, just in these 3 years, 13 States have implemented laws to protect life starting at conception; 19 States total have enacted pro-life laws.

And earlier today, the Supreme Court delivered yet another pro-life victory in the Medina v. Planned Parenthood decision. The Court affirmed that States have the right to decide how Medicaid dollars are spent and that no one can force a State to fund the abortion industry.

For too long, abortion providers like Planned Parenthood have used Federal healthcare dollars as a backdoor to sustain their operations. And this ruling puts an end to that abuse and upholds the fact that taxpayers should never be compelled to subsidize Big Abortion.

Cindy and I are the parents of four--we are now the grandparents of seven--and have always believed that protecting the unborn is one of our most important duties. It is a belief that I carry with me each day in this job at the U.S. Senate.

In fact, that is why back in 2018, I founded the Pro-Life Caucus for the U.S. Senate. I had no idea at that point--this was pre-Dobbs--how important our work would become.

And I am grateful to the State of Mississippi, to Senator Hyde- Smith's home State, where the Dobbs decision came from. It was the courage of those folks in Mississippi that resulted in that case before the Supreme Court that had a profound impact across our Nation with this Supreme Court ruling just a little over 3 years ago.

During my time as chairman of the Pro-Life Caucus, we confirmed pro- life Justices to the Supreme Court, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who went on to serve as the critical fifth vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

I remember that day very well when that news came down. I was struck by a truth that is found in the Old Testament, the Book of Jeremiah 1:15--this is a great mystery, a mystery of God--where it says:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, [and] before you were [even] born I set you apart.

What a great truth how God knows this, he loves us, and it is a reminder that all lives are made in the image of God. That is why there is dignity and there is value in every single life, and that includes the unborn, includes the disabled, the aging. All lives are worthy. I am glad to see our country has made great strides in defending the defenseless.

When we had our four children, I remember going to those doctor appointments with Cindy and seeing those amazing images, seeing ultrasounds. That was 20, 25, 30-plus years ago. Today, we get to relive that again with our grandchildren. Now our children are having their babies. The technology is so remarkable. It is amazing to get an insight of what is going on in the womb.

For those who don't believe in creation and don't believe we were created, I sometimes have to go back and see the miracle of life that is occurring as that little baby is being formed in the mom's womb.

But today, the chemical abortion pill is the most widespread form of abortion. In fact, in 2023, it accounted for 63 percent of all abortions, and that number continues to rise. President Joe Biden and his administration removed safety precautions on taking mifepristone, including the in-person dispensing requirement and followup visit with a medical provider. Thanks to the Biden administration, the pills can even be shipped out by mail, despite concrete evidence showing they are extremely harmful to women.

In fact, the FDA and the pro-abortion advocates market the pill as ``safe as Tylenol.'' But here are the facts: There is a recently published analysis of health insurance claims of over 865,000 women across the United States. They found that 1 in 10 women experiences serious adverse effects, many of these resulting in emergency room visits.

Let me share a stat here that is going to be shocking. The data here is irrefutable. We invite anybody to come check this data out. Here was the conclusion: The adverse health effects for women in this most recent study was 22 times higher than what is on the FDA's label on the abortion pills. Clearly, in no way is that abortion pill safe, and the FDA should reevaluate appropriate protections surrounding its use.

I am confident that with President Trump's leadership, with our Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, we are going to make some progress here. Already, President Trump is supporting the pro-life movement. One of his first actions after taking office was to pardon 23 peaceful pro-life protesters who were unjustly incarcerated by Joe Biden's Justice Department.

In the U.S. Senate, I was proud to join my colleagues this Congress to introduce the Unborn Child Support Act, which will allow pregnant women to receive child support payments. Caring for a child starts long before birth. Any pregnant mom--any mom who understands what that process is like--knows that caring for a child starts long before birth. By supporting expectant mothers, we recognize the humanity of the unborn child and make sure that women have access to the resources they need to choose life. I will fight to get this bill across the finish line.

It takes courage to stand for life in this day and age. I would like to take a moment to thank all who have played a role in advancing the movement, from my fellow Senators here, to advocacy groups, to the grassroots advocates back in our home States, and to those who offer us prayers at night. Everybody plays a part.

I am confident that one day, by the grace of God and the actions of this body, abortion will be unthinkable and every preborn child will be protected by law.

I spend a lot of time with students who come from our States. We all know that. We see the kids when they come, the tourists. We have junior high kids, sometimes grade school, high school students. They come from small towns, medium towns, and large towns from our States.

So when these Montanans come to our office, I always like holding a meeting. I bring them into my office, and we sit down. Sometimes there are not enough chairs, and students will be standing up.

I love to take questions from the students. Invariably, there will be a student that will raise their hand and ask me a question about my stance as it relates to a women's right to choose or abortion. Rather than be a dad in that moment--and I have been a dad a lot of moments raising our four children, two boys and two girls--I think sometimes it is best for us to collect and kind of give some thought as to how to answer that question.

So I ask: How many of you have a smartphone?

Most every one of those students has a phone.

Let's do a thoughtful experiment here. Go to Google and type in ``15 week baby''--1-5 week baby--and then touch on the ``images'' link on top. Let's talk about what we see there.

Of course, the students--there is not a lot more said at that point; it is silence.

I have done this many, many times. I just ask a basic question: Let's just have a debate. Is that life or not?

If we were NASA scientists and the Mars rover lands on Mars and that image was projected back to a group of Ph.D. scientists, literally rocket scientists, would they conclude that is life or not?

I have done this many, many times, and I will tell you, it is just silence as we all reflect on that basic question.

Why did I pick a 15-week baby in the womb? Because that was the line of demarcation that Mississippi had in their Dobbs case that defined-- Mississippi said that is where life begins, that is where protections begin. It was on that basis that case went before the U.S. Supreme Court, what a 15-week baby looks like.

I think all of us should reflect on that no matter where we are politically, where we are in terms of advocacy. Just take a look at those images and reflect and ask yourself: Is that a baby or not? I think the images and technology today, with the clarity of ultrasounds, are a pretty convincing argument.

So this week, as we celebrate this historic anniversary of the Dobbs decision, let's reflect with grateful hearts on the progress we made. Let's look forward with hope to a future where every life, whether born or unborn, is valued.

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