Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. WAGNER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership on this issue.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of life. Life begins at conception. We know that after 3 weeks, the baby has a heartbeat. After 7 weeks, the baby begins kicking in the womb. Believe me, as a mother of three, I know it well. By week eight, the baby begins to hear and fingerprints begin to form. After 10 weeks, the baby is able to turn his or her head, frown, and get the hiccups. By week 11, the baby can grasp with his or her hands. By week 12, the baby can suck his or her thumb. By week 15, the baby has an adult's taste buds. By week 18, that baby can flex his or her arms. And by week of 20, Madam Speaker, not only can that baby recognize the sound of his or her own mother's voice, but that baby can also feel pain.

Madam Speaker, it is not only the pain of the child that we must be concerned with, but it is also the pain of the mother.

H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, provides protections for both the woman and the child. This is not a bill restricting women's rights. This is a bill that supports and protects life. This bill is prowoman. It encourages discussion, medical treatment, and counseling for women who have been victimized. This bill is prowoman. It empowers women with a civil right of action if this law is not followed.

This bill, Madam Speaker, is prochild. It ensures that a baby born alive will be given lifesaving treatment. This bill is a prowoman and prochild solution to what our science and our values--our deeply held values--already tell us: that a baby at 22 weeks can feel pain, and that that baby deserves protection.

Madam Speaker, I am for life at all stages. I am for the life of the baby and the life of the mother. I will continue to work for the day when not only is abortion illegal but, Madam Speaker, it is unthinkable.

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