Date: 2011-02-17
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I dont doubt that the gentleman from Indiana is sincere. We all know him. and we know the longstanding commitment that he has had to this issue. But having served on the Judiciary Committee with the late Chairman Henry Hyde. I know how sincere he was in the work that he did to ensure that no Federal funds could be used for abortion. That is the law of the land. I also know how committed our colleague from Massachusetts is to his values of prolife. but he eloquently stood on the floor of the House and gave us a moral compass. This is not about abortion. This is about saving lives. And the Planned Parenthood effort. albeit with ills that any large organization may havecorrected ills. has a valuable and worthy purpose in saving lives. My fear is with the Pence amendment having the potential of passing. that we set the stage for going back 10. 20. 30. 40 years when women had no place to seek counseling. They know well that the adherence to the law that the Planned Parenthood organization must have is that they cannot use Federal funds for abortion. But this is not about abortion. This is about family planning and counseling services that have long been part of the Planned Parenthood family. And all well do by cutting these resources will be. in fact. going back to the dark ages when young women had no place to go. So Planned Parenthood does not equate to abortion. Family planning does not equate to abortion. Title X funds do not equate to abortion because the law of the land is clear. But what we will have are young women who will have no place to go to be able to ask questions. Yes. the Planned Parenthood facility is in the 18th Congressional District in Houston. Texas. a heavily diverse but heavily minority district. and I would argue that its efforts are positive in health education. the work it does. in Pap tests for cervical cancer. in STD testing. in menopause and hormone treatment. in urinary tract treatment. in breast exams. and in outreach to the Latino community. all services that would not be there if it was not for these committed workers and the committed Office of Planned Parenthood. Community health clinics. to be gutted. And as was indicated. all the work that were doing on the floor of the House. the question has to be. one. are we going forward in helping the American people create jobs? Or even in this amendment. causing thousands of Americans to lose their jobs in a worthy cause of helping those who many times cannot help themselves? What about those who have suffered a violent act of sexual assault? Where do they go? What do we say about a Planned Parenthood who. throughout its existence over the last couple of decades. has received violent threats. bomb threats? I am reminded of the police support that this local chapter had to have because of the constant threats upon their staff. So this is not all peaches and roses. We are simply standing here and saying. allow them to do their work. which is assisting a young woman by the name of Karen. 28 years old. who was between jobs. newly married. and did not have any health care. She saw the results of a pregnancy test that she got from the drugstore and couldnt believe what it said. She didnt know where else to go. She was frightened. 28 years old. But she went to Planned Parenthood. And what she said. without any pressure. she had the test and discovered that she was pregnant. And the nurse didnt ask her any indicting question. simply said. what do you want to do? And she thought about it. and she decided to say she wanted to have the baby. Dont let those stories go untold where women are counseled and they go forth with their plans with the idea that they have someone to help them along. even provide them with services to be able to carry that baby to term. So I simply want to say. they have suffered enough violence for Planned Parenthood. Lets not have more violence on the floor of the House. and lets vote down this particular amendment to continue them serving the women that need to be served. I yield back the balance of my time.