Arizona Representative Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) spoke against new Democrat pro-abortion House Rules (H.R.), which seek to protect abortion procedures, drugs, and access to abortions.
“This week, House Democrats rammed through two radical abortion bills, H.R. 8296, the Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act, and H.R. 8297, that are part of their extreme agenda to nationalize abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy,” Lesko said in her newsletter.
H.R. 8596, officially known as the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022, recently passed the House with 219 votes in favor. The bill’s text prohibits states from prescribing abortion-related drugs. It removes a “prohibition on abortion at any point or points prior to fetal viability” and any prohibition on abortion after fetal viability when the provider judges that the pregnancy puts the mother’s life at risk. Moreover, seekers would not need to provide a reason for seeking an abortion before fetal viability, which is defined as a physician judging that the fetus can survive outside the womb with or without medical assistance.
In response, Lesko spoke on the House floor, explaining her opposition to H.R. 8596, calling it a “stain on Congress.”
“This bill is beyond extreme,” said Lesko, “80% of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in the third trimester.”
She also argued that this bill would allow for discriminatory abortions potentially related to a baby’s sex, race, or disability and that it undermines preexisting state laws that ban the procedure.
“Women deserve better than this, and so do their pre-born babies,” Lesko saidd, closing her argument. “We were elected to defend Americans’ rights and yet this congress seeks to deny vulnerable persons babies their most basic rights: the right to life.”
Furthermore, the House also passed H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, with 223 votes in favor. The bill seeks to prohibit “any person acting under state law” from preventing physicians from providing abortions to out-of-state residents, anyone who travels out of state to receive the procedure, or the movement of abortion drugs between states. Specifically, “any person’s or entity’s ability to assist another person traveling across a State line for the purpose of obtaining an abortion” cannot be stopped under state laws.
Lesko opposed H.R. 8297, calling it “a hastily crafted bill that undermines the health and safety of mothers in the name of the Far-Left’s abortion agenda.”
Additionally, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) took issue with this bill, alleging it would allow traffickers to transport minors without their parents’ consent.
“Sex trafficking, human trafficking and sending young pregnant girls across the country in the company of anyone, including pimps and sex traffickers, is immoral. I voted in favor of stopping this evil practice,” Gosar said.
Gosar did vote in favor of the Motion to Recommit H.R. 8297, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which seeks to protect parents’ rights to have a say in their child’s abortion. Unless it is necessary to save the mother’s life, anyone who moves a minor to another state to receive an abortion must notify and have the parent’s consent. If they do not, they shall be fined and face up to a year in prison. Furthermore, the motion states that any physician performing an abortion on a minor from a different state must give the parents notice 24 hours before the procedure, or they will face a fine or one year’s jail time.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Debbie Lesko” by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko. Background Photo “Pregnant Woman” by TawnyNina.
