On Wednesday, September 9, 2015, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled, “Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the horrific abortion practices at the nation’s largest abortion provider” where we heard testimony from abortion survivors, Gianna Jessen and Melissa Ohden. Videos from the hearing can be found below.
Mr. Franks on the House Floor July 21, 2015:
“Mr. Speaker as profoundly tragic as it is, no one should have been surprised by the recent revelations that Planned Parenthood is harvesting and selling the body parts of little babies. They have so repeatedly proven themselves blind to the dignity of humanity. They have always been at the forefront of the greatest human genocide in human history. And Planned Parenthood is the number one advocate of killing more than 3,000 little unborn American babies every day. These recent revelations are just one more heart break regular minder that the nation’s largest abortion provider has always had a legendary disregard for the sanctity of innocent human life. It beggars incredulity that this congress continues to give hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money against the taxpayers’ wishes, Mr. Speaker, to a heartless organization like Planned Parenthood that goes to such grotesque lengths to promote the killing of innocent unborn babies through abortion on demand at any time throughout the nine months of pregnancy for any reason or for no reason. This body recently passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that would, except in rare circumstances, protect both mothers and their little pain-capable unborn babies entering their sixth month, their sixth month, Mr. Speaker, of gestation from the unspeakable cruelty of planned parenthood and evil monsters like Kermit Gosnell. if the pain-capable unborn child protection act had already been law, it would have saved the lives of our — of thousands of late-term pain-capable babies every year and would have made it much harder for planned parenthood to harvest and sell the organs and body parts of unborn children since they simply would not have had as many of the more mature organs and body parts of the older babies to choose from. Mr. Speaker, there is no question whatsoever that Planned Parenthood brazenly and repeatedly violated the law in the selling of these little body parts. It is an unspeakable disgrace that the Obama Justice Department will likely never launch a criminal investigation to look into these unconscionable acts. But if this Congress and the American people now also look the other way and ignore this kind of insidious evil, we do so at our moral peril. If the conscience of this nation is to survive, it is now vital for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to become law. The House has already passed this critically important and timely legislation. It is now time for the Senate to do the same. We must not let the continuous and repeated manifestations of this unspeakable evil of killing late-term pain-capable babies and selling their body parts to go unanswered. You know, Mr. Speaker, supporters of abortion on demand have tried for decades to deny that unborn babies ever feel pain. Even those they say at the beginning of the sixth month of pregnancy, as if somehow the ability to feel pain magically develops the very second the child is born. Mr. speaker, almost every other civilized nation on this earth protects pain-capable babies at this stage and at this age and every credible poll of the American people shows that they are overwhelmingly in favor of protecting these children and yet we have given these little babies less legal protection from unnecessary pain and cruelty than the protection we have given farm animals under the federal humane slaughter act. It is a tragedy that beggars description. The voices who have long hailed the merciless killing of these little ones as freedom of choice, especially the ones who profit from it, Mr. Speaker, will be very shrill and loud. But when we hear those voices, we should all remember the voice of president — the words of President Abraham Lincoln when he said, “those who deny freedom others — to others deserve it not themselves and under a just god cannot long retain it.” Mr. Speaker, for the sake of all those who founded and built this nation and dreamed of what America could someday be, and for the sake of all those since then who have died in darkness so Americans could walk in the light of freedom, it is so very important that those of us who are privileged to be the members of this congress pause from time to time and remind ourselves of why we are really all here. Mr. Speaker, do we still hold these truths to be self-evident? Mr. Lincoln called upon all of us, Mr. Speaker, to remember that magnificent declaration of independence by America’s founding fathers that said, “their enlightened belief that nothing stamped with the Divine image and likeness was sent into this world to be trodden on or degraded and embrooded by its fellows.” He reminded those he called posterity — that’s us, Mr. Speaker — that in some distant future when some man, some faction, some interest should set up a doctrine that some were not entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that, “their posterity,” that’s us, Mr. Speaker, “that there posterity might look up again to the declaration of independence and take courage to renew the battle which their fathers began.” Thomas Jefferson, whose words marked the beginning of this nation, said, “the care of human life and its happiness and not its destruction is the chief and only object of good government.” The phrase in the Fifth Amendment capsulizes our entire constitution, Mr. Speaker. It says, “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” And the 14th amendment says “no State shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Mr. Speaker, protecting the lives of all Americans and their constitutional rights, especially those who cannot protect themselves, is why we are really all here. Mr. Speaker, not long ago I heard Barack Obama speak very noble and poignant words, that whether he realizes it or not apply so profoundly to this subject. Let me quote excerpted portions of his comments. He said, “this is our first task, caring for our children. It is our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how as a society we will be judged.” President Obama asked, “are we really prepared to say that we are powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of freedom?” The President also said, our journey is not complete until all our children are, “cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.” That is our generation’s task, he said, “to make these words, these rights, these values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American.” Mr. Speaker, never, never have I so deeply agreed with any words ever spoken by President Barack Obama as those i have just quoted. How I wish Mr. Obama and all the rest of us could somehow open our hearts and our ears to his words and ask ourselves in the core of our souls why these words that should apply to all children cannot include the most helpless and vulnerable of all children. Are there any children more vulnerable than little pain-capable babies before they’re even born? You know, Mr. Speaker, it seems that somehow we are never quite so eloquent as when we decry the crimes of past generations. But oh how we often become so staggering blind when it comes to facing and rejecting the worst of atrocities in our own time. As Americans in the land of the free and the home of the brave we now live in a day when monsters like Kermit Gosnell snip the spinal cords of born babies and Planned Parenthood, who for financial gain, uses partial birth abortions to deliberately harvest in tact body parts of innocent babies who they have deprived of the chance to even be born. Mr. Speaker, what we are doing to these little children, the least of these, our little brothers and sisters, is real. The president knows that and all of us here know that in our hearts. Medical science, regarding the development of unborn babies, beginning at the sixth month of pregnancy now demonstrates irrefutably that they do in fact experience pain. Many of them cry and scream as they are killed but because it’s amniotic fluid going over the vocal cords instead of air, we can’t hear them. It is the greatest human rights atrocity in the United States today. And for us to now stand by and allow it all to continue unabated while Planned Parenthood sells the body parts of these little murdered children is to desecrate everything that America was meant to be and for those noble Americans who died to make it come to be. Abraham Lincoln gave his contemporaries such wise counsel, Mr. Speaker, and it so desperately applies to all of us in this moment. He said, “fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us the fiery trial through which we now pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the last generation.” These are indeed days that will be considered in the annals of history and I believe in the councils of history itself. This bloody shadow has loomed over America for too long. It is time for the senate to pass the pain-capable unborn child protection act. Because in spite of all the political noise, protecting little pain-capable unborn children and their mothers is not a Republican issue, it’s not a Democrat issue; it is a test of our basic humanity and who we are as a human family. And it is time to open our eyes and allow our consciences to catch up with our technology. It is time for Members of the United States Congress to open our eyes and our soul and remember that protecting those who cannot protect themselves is why we are really all here. And it is time for all Americans, Mr. Speaker, to open our eyes and our hearts to the humanity of these little unborn children of God. And the inhumanity of what Planned Parenthood is doing to them.”
The chilling video released today is yet another tragic and heart-breaking reminder of Planned Parenthood’s legendary disregard for the sanctity of innocent human life. The trafficking of the little hearts, livers and heads of these precious unborn children resulted in significant financial benefit for Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country.
Planned Parenthood must be held responsible for the horrifying use of partial-birth abortions to deliberately harvest the intact the body parts of innocent human children. It is an unspeakable disgrace that the Obama Justice Department will likely never launch a criminal investigation to look into these unconscionable acts that were clearly covered up by Planned Parenthood – from the CEO, Cecile Richards, down to the workers at the clinics who performed these gruesome acts. If our government and the American people look the other way from this kind of insidious evil, we do so at our moral peril.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Upon passage of H.R. 36 the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the bill’s sponsor Congressman Franks issued the following statement:
“I want to express my deepest and sincerest gratitude to my colleagues who not only played a role in the creation and development of The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act but who also voted today to protect little pain-capable unborn babies. I especially want to thank the leadership of the House for bringing it to a vote on this unique day. Protecting those who cannot protect themselves is why we are really all here and today’s vote is a strong reminder of that.
“Exactly 2 years ago to the day, one Kermit Gosnell was convicted of killing a mother and murdering innocent, late term, pain capable babies in his grisly torture chamber abortion clinic. This bill and its passage express our deeply sincere desire to protect both mothers and their little pain capable unborn babies entering their sixth month of pregnancy from the unspeakable cruelty of evil monsters like Kermit Gosnell.
“The historic passage of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection act proves that those of us privileged to live and breathe in this the land of the free and the home of the brave finally came together with our minds and hearts open to the humanity of these little victims and the inhumanity of what is being done to them.”
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Transcript:
“Mr. Speaker, for the sake of all of those who founded this nation and dreamed of what America could someday be, and for the sake of all those since then, who have died in darkness so Americans could walk in the light of freedom, it is so very important that those of us who are privileged to be members of this United States Congress, pause from time to time and remind ourselves of why we are really all here.
Thomas Jefferson, whose words marked the beginning of this nation, said, “The care of human life and its happiness, and not its destruction, is the chief and only object of good government.” The phrase in the 5th Amendment capsulizes our entire Constitution. It says, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” And the 14th Amendment says no State shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Mr. Speaker, protecting the lives of all Americans and their Constitutional rights is why we are really all here.
Yet today, Mr. Speaker, a great Shadow looms over America. More than 18,000 very late-term abortions are occuring in America every year placing the mothers at exponentially greater risk and subjecting their Pain Capable unborn babies to torture and death without anesthesia or Federal protection of any kind in the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is the greatest human rights atrocity in the United States today.
Almost every other major civilized nation on earth protects Pain capable unborn babies at this age, and every credible poll of the American people shows that they are overwhelmingly in favor of protecting them. And yet, we have given these little babies less legal protection from unnecessary cruelty than the protection we have given farm animals under the Federal Humane Slaughter Act.
Mr. Speaker, it seems we are never quite so eloquent as when we decry the crimes of past generations, but we often become staggering blind when it comes to facing and rejecting the worst of atrocities in our own time. But Mr. Speaker, I would submit to you that the winds of change are now beginning to blow and that the tide of blindness and blood is finally turning in America. Because, today we are poised to pass The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in this chamber.
And no matter how it is shouted down, or what distortions, deceptive what-ifs, distractions, diversions, gotchas!, twisting of words, changing the subject, or blatant falsehoods the abortion industry hurls at this bill and its supporters, this bill is a deeply sincere effort, beginning at their sixth month of pregnancy, to protect both mothers and their pain capable unborn babies from the atrocity of late-term abortion on demand, and ultimately, it is one all humane Americans can support if they truly understand it for themselves.
Mr. Speaker, this is a vote all of us will remember forever and it will be considered in the annals of history, and I believe the counsels of eternity itself. But it shouldn’t be such a hard vote. Protecting little pain capable unborn children and their Mothers is not a Republican issue, or a Democrat issue, it is a test of our basic humanity and who we are as human family.
It is time to open our eyes and allow our consciences to catch up with our technology. It is time for members of the United States Congress to open our eyes and our souls and remember that protecting those who cannot protect themselves is why we are really all here.
And it is time for all Americans, Mr. Speaker, to open our eyes and our hearts to the humanity of these little pain capable unborn children of God and the inhumanity of what is being done to them.”
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently published the results of a study of nearly 5,000 premature births. The findings may have significant impact on the Pain Capable debate and the pro-life position in general. 22 weeks may become the new standard of viability with advances in medical technology and more babies surviving earlier. The NEJM study found that there are no national standards when it comes to how hospitals treat premature babies. Revisions to the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would ensure babies born alive are given proper medical attention and are provided the best possible chance to survive.
The astonishing reality is this: in America, unborn children even in the 9th month of pregnancy remain unprotected in Federal Law or by any directive of the Supreme Court. Their constitutional rights are simply ignored. Throughout America’s history, the hearts of the American people have been moved with compassion when they discover a theretofore hidden class of victims, once they grasp both the humanity of the victims and the inhumanity of what is being done to them. This shouldn’t be a hard question for us. Most Americans clearly support protections for unborn babies after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Quinnipiac University polling shows that a majority of American support Pain Capable legislation specifically with support among millennials almost as high as the national rate.
Read full Quinnipiac University Poll from November 2014 here.
Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act 