2000CRE509C PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 2000
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[Congressional Record: April 6, 2000 (Extensions)]
[Page E509]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr06ap00-24]
PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 2000
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speech of
HON. JIM DeMINT
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, April 5, 2000
Mr. DeMint. Mr. Speaker, during the great debates between Senator
Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln in 1858, Lincoln stood before
thousands of hostile spectators to contest the moral issue of slavery
in America. He warned of a nation that treaded upon the principles of
equality and freedom, ``Let us,'' Lincoln said, ``united as one people
throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that
all men are created equal.'' His words, and dreams, renewed the heart
of the nation to fulfill our promise to all people no matter their
color, creed, or class.
Today, we too stand at a moment of decision. The debate on banning
partial birth abortion provides us an opportunity of a lifetime--to
protect the most innocent lives among us. This debate strikes at the
very heart of who we are as a people--the core of our conscience and
the character of our nation. It is our time, just as Lincoln answered
the call of his convictions, to defend the defenseless and speak for
those without voices.
What a privilege it is to make the right decision today.
Some in this House have cheapened this debate through distortions and
distractions--not willing to unveil the reality that only seconds and
inches separate thousands of children from life and death every year.
In Lincoln's time, our nation deemed slaves sixty-percent human. We
shackled their legs and beat their backs. We disposed of them as mere
chattel, auctioning them like cattle and demanded they give their life
and labor for our prosperity. Are we much different today? We deem
innocent babies--with kicking feet and beating hearts--less than human.
We dispose of them as useless, in pretentious compassion discarding
them as ``unwanted.''
Abortion is the civil rights issue of our time. This partial-birth
abortion ban rescues our children from the slavery of choice.
I ask this body to make the right choice. Join Lincoln in the
hallmarks of history as people who shall once more stand up declaring
that all men are created equal. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support
of the ban on partial birth abortions.
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