Garrett on Abortion

Yesterday was the annual March for Life down in DC. Representative Scott Garrett addressed the crowd, and if I find audio or video I'll post it. Afterwards, he took to the House floor and had this to say:

Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for managing this hour as Members come to the floor to speak about this extremely important topic.

I must begin my remarks by thanking everyone who took part earlier today, all those folks who traveled down here to Washington to participate in the annual Right to Life March from all over the country, in bad bus rides and distant flight delays and bumpy car rides. I am grateful to all the marchers who came from the great State of New Jersey. Particularly, I would like to recognize the students from Pope John High School and also the kids from Veritas Christian Academy located in Sparta, as well as some of the parishioners who came down from Our Lady of Fatima in Vernon, St. Jude's Church in Blairstown, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Stillwater, and the folks from Lafayette Federated Church from Lafayette.

I didn't include everyone, but the list would go on and on with all of the people from the great State of New Jersey, people concerned and taking part to make sure that their voice was heard.

Earlier today I had the opportunity, and I would say the honor of speaking to the thousands of marchers who came out. They braved the freezing wind and the rain that was coming on as well. As I had a chance to talk to them, I told them that they, along with Members of Congress, were probably experiencing mixed emotions at the time, similar to the emotions I was experiencing.

Think about it, on the one hand, we are immensely encouraged by what we see. We are encouraged that so many people have gathered here in Washington, DC to mark the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. We draw comfort from that fact. We are encouraged that our Nation has not forgotten that tragic death even 35 years later. We are encouraged that we can stand firm in reminding our fellow citizens that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. And most importantly of all, is the right to life.

Finally, we are encouraged that in many cases, our efforts have been rewarded. For instance, the number of abortions that are performed annually has actually dropped down back to levels not seen since the 1970s. Still, despite those signs of encouragement, our hearts are still heavy with sadness and that is because we mourn the millions of babies who have been mercilessly killed before they can even take their first single breath. And we grieve for the mothers and fathers who suffer from the emotional pain of having to have gone through an abortion.

We lament the fact of a continuing decline of morality, civility, and respect for human dignity and worth. For me and my constituents in New Jersey, I am particularly disheartened by a study that was released just last week that showed that our home State, the so-called Garden State, has the second highest abortion rate in the Nation.

It is in moments like these that we must turn our gaze upward and remember the One, the One who created life is also the One who governs the universe. He commands us to ``run and not be weary, to walk and not faint.''

And so today, we ultimately find encouragement in knowing that the battle is not over. The battle is not ours alone, and the might of right is on our side.

So we will keep working to increase the number of States that have substantive parental involvement laws, thereby protecting teens from the abortion propaganda. We will continue to prohibit partial-birth abortions and fight that in other States as well. And we will show by example how to value life.

Finally, some day I pray that we will experience a January 22 free of these mixed emotions. And instead, we will be able to celebrate a renewed culture of life in this entire Nation.

We elected officials come to the floor to remember the weakest among us. Yet I know we will succeed not because of who we are, but because of what Americans all across this great Nation are doing on behalf of life.