During yesterday’s debate on The Protect Life Act (HR 358), Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) argued that the law – which would stop taxpayer funding of abortion and strengthen conscience protections under Obamacare – was an “insidious” attack on women. During her floor speech, Jackson Lee mentioned a Texas sonogram law that “required a doctor to talk first to a woman seeking an abortion and to allow or force them both to listen to, uh, sounds that, uh, might discourage this needed action.”
As you can see in the video, Jackson Lee momentarily struggles to find the correct word to describe what doctors and women hear during a sonogram. This is because that “sound” that she mentions is a heartbeat. Check out this amazing video from the Endowment of Human Development which shows how the unborn child’s blood pumps through his or her heart. (The baby’s heart will beat approximately 54 million times before birth!)
Jackson Lee was extremely careful with her wording. Her statement was aimed at fooling people into thinking that pro-life legislation is denied simply to discourage women. “Heartbeat” wasn’t the only word that she left out. Rather than refer to “abortion” by name, she refers to it as a “needed action.” By playing down the value of a heartbeat as a measure of human life, and by making a blanket statement to identify all abortions as “needed action”, Jackson Lee was intentionally misleading in her statement.
Pro-abortion advocates often tout a mantra of “trust women.” Does Rep. Jackson Lee trust women enough to allow them all the information? Her blatant disrespect for any decision other than abortion is deeply troubling.
Another troubling fact, though it is hardly a surprise: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Planned Parenthood during the last election . It’s safe to say, as Rep. Jackson Lee might put it, the pro-abortion lobby loves her with all of their “sounds”.
The SBA Pro-Life America National Pro-life Scorecard is a tool that helps hold members of Congress accountable for their legislative records on life and that highlights leadership in the fight to serve women and save babies.
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