Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Madam Speaker, this is the final amendment to H.R. 36, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

My amendment would ensure that nothing in the bill would prevent a woman from terminating her pregnancy after 20 weeks if her health were at risk. Only 1.1 percent of abortions performed in the United States occur after the 20-week mark. These rare procedures are often the most medically difficult and dangerous cases where women--many of whom want and have dreamed of being parents--are faced with impossible decisions.

As it is written, H.R. 36 would force a doctor to wait until a condition becomes life threatening before performing an abortion. It shows no concern for the long-term health of the mother, her future ability to bear children, or her right to make her own medical decisions.

It ignores that there are very real and very serious reasons why a woman may need an abortion later in pregnancy. For example, pregnant women with severe fetal anomalies or women whose amniotic sacs rupture prematurely and cannot support the fetus would be forced to give birth. The bill also treats doctors as criminals for providing care that has been the law of the land for 42 years, and it puts doctors' safety at risk by requiring public disclosure of doctors who provide abortion care around the country.

Both the American Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists understand that there is no appropriate one-size-fits-all solution. They oppose bills not based on sound science and that interfere with the physician's ability to provide the highest quality of care.

H.R. 36 does more than endanger the health and lives of women. It also robs rape victims of their constitutionally protected right to choose. The bill's revised rape exception continues to question rape victims' honesty by requiring that adult rape victims obtain counseling or medical treatment 48 hours before obtaining an abortion and prohibits both services from being performed by a woman's regular OB/GYN. By placing these onerous burdens on women, this bill revictimizes women who have already been traumatized and denies women the right to choose their own doctor.

Further, many women, especially victims of abuse, do not report rape for fear of reprisal. The National Institute of Justice estimates that only 35 percent of women report rape. Forcing a survivor to report her sexual assault before she can terminate a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest denies her basic rights.

If we are serious about reducing the number of abortions, we should improve access to birth control and family planning, we should support comprehensive sexual education, we should do anything but pass this misguided, misinformed, and ill-conceived legislation.

Instead of bills that harm women, we should work together on bipartisan legislation to help women and families, including passing legislation that provides equal pay for equal work, access to child care, and paid family leave. We should also pass a transportation bill, fix our crumbling infrastructure, create jobs, and strengthen the economy. Backward bills, not based in science, that fail to respect a woman's right to privacy and right to make her own health decisions have no place in local, State, or Federal legislation.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to recommit, vote ``yes'' to protect women's health, vote ``yes'' for a woman's right to choose.

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