Date: 2012-05-31
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me. first of all. say how pleased I am to have Benjamin with me. who is representing and advocating for the fairness and treatment of the foster care system and foster children as they mature into adulthood. This is an important aspect of democracy. Mr. Speaker. I come this morning with a series of issues regarding rights. First of all. let me acknowledge that this was Memorial Day week. when I hope all of us were doing more commemorating than possibly celebrating with tasty food. I had the privilege of joining our community in a national Memorial Day celebration at the Houston Veterans Cemetery and then going to The Heights. a historic community. and commemorating the fallen soldiers at the World War II Monument in The Heights of the 18th Congressional District. On this past Saturday. I had a fun festival day of veterans and celebration commemorating the service of our soldiersthose who have fallen and those who live. Thats why I rise today to ask and encourageeven after the NATO meetingthat we have a quick resolution of the Afghan war. And I join my colleagues. Congresswoman BARBARA LEE and WALTER JONES. in their discussion this afternoon of whats next in Afghanistan. We thank those soldiers on the front line. None of our commentary to bring this war to an end has anything to do with their brave. wonderful. heroic acts of service and fighting for democracy and justice. We ask President Karzai and his government to end its corruptness and to begin to transition so that the people of Afghanistan can live in peace. We want peace as well. and we want their rights to prevail. Mr. Speaker. I now move to a tragic situation of huge proportions. I joined Syrian Americans on Tuesday in my community. standing in front of the Federal courthouse. crying out for peace and justice for the Syrian people. Alongside of me were Syrian Americans whose families were in Houla and Homs and had seen the brutality. We had projections of the violence against children and bodies wrapped in white cloth. Mr. Speaker. we cry out and wonder why there cannot be more done by the world. Where is the outrage? I congratulate the Secretary of State and the President of the United States and other Western countries and others who have expelled the Syrian envoys. Get them out now because. obviously. Dr. Assad does not recognize that people are valued. And so I call upon the Arab League to put pressure on China and Russia. Let us not put our individual needs of energyoil and gas. oil in particularover the deadly violence that is going on in Syria. Shame on you. I ask the U.N. Security Council that is now blocked by China and Russia to institute a U.N. Unity of Peace Resolution No. 377. which was done during the Korean War. where you go to the General Assembly and put forward recommendations that would engage or provide for peace and provide for the involvement of other countries providing for the assistance of the Syrian free army. No. Im not asking for war. Im asking for the end of the violence in Syria. How can we stand by as we once stood by looking at Darfur. as we once stood by looking at Rwanda? How can we stand by? I cry out for this Congress to issue sanctions. I cry out for actions. Let me conclude by simply saying today we will have on the floor of the House a bill by the name of PRENDA. As Ive heard from my colleagues. not one of us disagree with the idea of forced abortions. meaning that we do not disagree that that is heinous and horrific. I fear the PRENDA legislation because it is not thoughtful and has not been drafted in a way that distinguishes the rights of women in this Nation to have choice. And what it does. Mr. Speaker. is it criminalizes a doctor and criminalizes a relationship between a patient and a physician. In this country. we have the right of choice. That choice is between a woman. her God. her faith. her family. and her physician. And what you do in PRENDA is that you taint and stigmatize the relationship between the doctor and the patient. Because how do you get in the mindset and the psyche of a physician who is doing his job providing the care that the woman has askedher choiceand begin to demonize and suggest that she is forcibly deciding to abort because she is forcibly deciding what gender she wants? Then. of course. you add insult to injury by profiling various countries. As my colleague has previously said. why cant we look for more positive ways of providing womens rights and discerning or educating people that women are equally valuable as human beings as men? But the PRENDA bill demonizes the patient -physician relationship. We cannot have that. I ask for a "no" vote.