Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of parental and maternal rights and in opposition to H.R. 26.

I am the first mother in history to represent west Michigan in Congress. This matter is deeply personal to me. I recently shared publicly about my own experience navigating a complex miscarriage and the loss of my daughter. As a pro-choice Christian who chose life, this issue is so personal to me. My faith informs my actions, but it doesn't dictate the policy of an entire nation.

Further, when I read the Scripture, I am guided by passages like Jeremiah 1:5, which states: I knew you before I formed you, and I placed you in your mother's womb. It doesn't say the government's womb or the Speaker's womb, it says the mother's womb.

I believe life is precious, but I reject the idea that if I embrace the sanctity of life, I also must be forced to invite the Federal Government in to regulate it. We must protect families from unnecessary government intrusion into the most sacred and personal decisions of our lives and our children's lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I believe this Congress has a chance to do what is right.

I am an unflinching optimist, and I believe that we can come together to make our communities safer and more just for all.

As the first woman and mother in history to represent my district in Congress, and as an attorney that has worked for our Nation's top law enforcement agency, keeping our communities safe is a top priority of mine because violence, of all kinds, takes a massive toll on the people we represent.

Just 2 years ago, a friend of mine, Romito Jones, was shot and killed in our neighborhood on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. He was a father of five and a friend to my family.

Just last month, a recently elected member of the Muskegon Heights school board, Julius Muhammad, was shot and killed in his home. He was a dad and a public servant. He was loved and admired by his community.

Today I honor their lives as I strive for safer communities for all.

We must come together to enact commonsense reforms to keep our neighborhoods safe, support our law enforcement, and support fair and equitable enforcement of the law.

I am ready to get to work, and I invite all of my colleagues to join me.