During a congressional hearing Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra lied multiple times as questions were posed to him about partial-birth abortion. Becerra continually denied there was any such ban on partial-birth abortions (PBA) even though he was in the House when the bill was signed into law. He claimed that no such terminology exists. Why would he do that> Because he plans on ignoring the law, perhaps?
Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) asked Becerra:
“Do you agree that partial-birth abortion is illegal?”
Becerra responded:
“There is no medical term like ‘partial-birth abortion,’ and so I would probably have to ask you what you mean by that to describe what is allowed by the law. But Roe v. Wade is very clear, it’s settled precedent, and a woman has a right to make decisions about her reproductive health, and we will make sure that we enforce the law and protect those rights.”
“There is no law that deals specifically with the term ‘partial-birth abortion.’”
In 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law, which disallows pulling the baby’s head outside the body and vacuuming its brains out, killing the baby. And notice the name of the bill. According to Becerra, that terminology does not exist, even though it’s in the name of the bill.
The Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2007. The ban prohibits abortions in which the abortionist “deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus and then aborts the baby. But, the head of HHS has never heard of it?
.@RepGusBilirakis: Will you uphold the law banning Partial-Birth Abortions?@SecBecerra: There is no such law…
Stop lying.
The law passed & Supreme Court upheld it.
This law bans killing a child when it is already partially born.
You voted AGAINST this law.
Shame on you. pic.twitter.com/vESTylewGS
— Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) May 12, 2021
Later in the hearing, Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), who is a physician pressed Becerra again on PBA. and he said, “It didn’t seem clear that you understood what my colleague Mr. Bilirakis meant by the term ‘partial-birth abortion.’”
Joyce said:
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Facebook Finally Loses“Section 1531 of Title 18 U.S. Code is literally titled, ‘Partial Birth Abortions Prohibited.’ That statute very clearly defines this inhumane procedure. So now with that clarification, could you please recognize that that does exist in statute, and I would ask you, do you agree that this law is correct?”
Becerra then claimed that doctors do not use that phrase but Joyce is a doctor and he says they definitely do.
