W. Todd Akin

Mr. Speaker, in just about a week or so, we're going to be sitting down at tables celebrating Thanksgiving and eating turkey and getting a little sleepy maybe afterwards. But as we think about Thanksgiving and we think about the holiday of Thanksgiving Day, it may be interesting and it may add a little richness to that holiday if we remember how it came about and what we have to be thankful for.

There were originally a group of people that came to this country on the Mayflower, and a number of them onboard had the dream of building a new kind of country, something that Europe had never seen before. They believed that they would take principles that they found in the Bible and that they would apply them in a new way and create a new structure of what a country could look like.

So they came to America. And after landing, within the first 4 months, half of them had died. And you would think they would pretty much give up on a dream at that point. The Mayflower had stayed to give them some protection and shelter, so it was in the early springtime that this group of the people that were left--about 55 of the Pilgrims--had to make a decision. You could think of it as actually voting, only voting with their feet.

They were approached by the captain of the Mayflower, and the captain of the Mayflower said, Things aren't going so well. I've lost half my crew, and half of you are dead, and we are going to be heading back to England. And I recommend that you get on the Mayflower because you don't have adequate supplies, and you don't have really a knowledge of how you're going to be able to deal with the wilderness that you are living in.

So it was that the Mayflower's captain gave the commands, the old seaweed-covered anchor cable was hauled onboard, the yardarms were trimmed to the wind, and first large and then small, the Mayflower disappears over the horizon. The wind is blowing through the trees, and 55 courageous men, women, and children stood on the beach.

Why did they stay? They stayed because they believed in the dream that they had in their hearts, of making a new nation. And by staying, they gave us some things that we should be thankful for, not just the Thanksgiving turkey.

First of all, they came with the idea that civil government and church government were separate types of governments, and the civil government shouldn't run the church or the other way around.

So they were what was called in those days ``separatists'' because they wanted to separate from the King of England who was running the Church.

So the first thing they gave us was the concept of separating civil and church governments. But the second thing that happened was, when they arrived in Massachusetts, they were blown off course by the storms; and so they had no government. So a group of free people, under God, wrote a document called the Mayflower Compact. It starts: ``In the name of God,'' and it goes on to say to frame just and equal laws.

So what happened was a group of free people, under God, created a civil government, and that of course was the foundation of our Declaration of Independence. And all of American civil government we can trace back to these courageous 55 people who stayed on the beach.

So as you're having your turkey, think about how they gave us the idea of separating civil and church governments, and also how it was that they gave us the idea that our Creator gives us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Have a great Thanksgiving. God bless you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Oliver Siebert of Chesterfield, Missouri. The French government recently awarded Mr. Siebert the Legion of Honor for his part in the liberation of Strasbourg, France. The medal and the accompanying title of Knight of the Legion of Honor is the highest military award given by the French government.

Mr. Siebert, just twenty years old, was an acting second lieutenant leading the 324th infantry battalion and the 220th field artillery in November 1944. American forces, operating jointly with elements of the French Second Armored Division under the command of Captain Jean Penet, fought across the Vosges Mountains in the French Alps throughout October and November 1944. On 23 November 1944 elements of the French Army entered Strasbourg and liberated the city.

Mr. Siebert's service did not end with the liberation of Strasbourg. While conducting operations in support of the assault of Hangviller on 27 November 1944, Mr. Siebert and a small group of American soldiers were captured by German SS soldiers disguised as U.S. troops. Three days later, after overpowering two SS officers and commandeering their car, he was able to escape and return to his duties as an artillery forward observer.

On Christmas Day 1944 a German shell landed not far from his forward observation post and caused severe damage to his right leg. German strafing of the ambulance that evacuated him that night caused further damage that would require extensive surgery and lengthy convalescence to repair. After treatment at several American military hospitals, Mr. Siebert was honorably discharged on 18 August 1945.

Mr. Siebert returned to St. Louis, earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Washington University and in 1948 married Virginia Turner, his wife now for more than 63 years.

I am truly honored to have the opportunity to share this heroic story. This son of a truck driver for Anheuser-Busch, despite initially being rejected for military service because he was ``clinically blind'', did not give up his quest to do his part to defeat Nazi Germany. And now, almost seventy years later, I join the French government in honoring his sacrifice and service to the French people and these United States.

Mr. Siebert, thank you. And may God Bless you and your family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support for H.R. 3803, the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. This legislation affects the District of Columbia, which, operating under authority delegated by Congress, repealed all limitations on abortion at any stage of pregnancy, effective April 29, 2004.

H.R. 3803 would outlaw abortion in the District of Columbia on an unborn child 20 weeks or more after fertilization, except ``if, in reasonable medical judgment, the abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself,'' but not including psychological disorders or threats of self-injury.

An unborn child can react to touch merely 8 weeks after fertilization, and after 20 weeks, the child can feel pain. At this 20- week mark, a child will recoil from painful stimuli and show significant increases in stress hormones, and fetal anesthesia is routinely administered to children who undergo surgery while still in the womb. There is significant medical evidence supporting the child's ability to experience pain at 20 weeks, if not earlier, and the unlimited abortion currently allowed in the District of Columbia is simply inhumane.

I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of H.R. 3803, which is a morally necessary and

common-sense piece of legislation, and I support it fully. Additionally, I firmly believe that our nation must protect human life at all stages, and unborn children are no exception. During my time in Congress, I have stood against abortion and supported numerous pieces of pro-life legislation. I am also a member of the Congressional Pro- Life Caucus, and I will continue to fight to protect the lives of the unborn in any way I can.