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Floor Speech

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Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, 4 years ago today, our Nation took the historic step when the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturned the so-called right to end a baby's life in America and returned the authority to regulate abortion to the people. Since then, the abortion industry has intensified its efforts to convince women that pregnancy is inherently dangerous and harmful to their health. While pregnancy can involve complications, those cases are the exception; they are not the rule. Yet these exceptions are often used to justify abortion at every stage of a pregnancy, including a growing number of at-home abortions, using mail-ordered mifepristone, without having direct physician oversight.

Here is the truth about chemical abortion: First of all, this regimen is not safer than Tylenol. A woman can experience anywhere from a month to 6 weeks of bleeding after taking the abortion pill regimen-- horrendous bleeding that is significantly heavier than usual. It is especially dangerous for women who are already anemic with low blood counts. Nearly one in nine women who take these drugs will suffer a serious adverse event, such as sepsis, hemorrhaging, infection, or emergency surgery, within 45 days of ingesting the pill.

Chemical abortion can also pose a serious threat to women's future fertility or even their lives when they are not screened through an in- person doctor visit for conditions like an ectopic pregnancy, and a woman who has a chemical abortion has a 300-percent increase in having a preterm birth in future pregnancies--a 300-percent increase.

The SAVE Moms and Babies Act puts commonsense safety protections back into place by at least requiring an in-person doctor visit before being prescribed mifepristone, which is designed to abort a baby. This drug should never be administered through the mail, where abusers and traffickers can hide behind a computer anonymously.

While I cannot stress enough the importance of correcting misinformation about abortion drugs and reinstating the safety protections that the Biden administration recklessly removed, we also need to flip the abortion industry's entire script by highlighting something too often overlooked: the extraordinary benefits of pregnancy for women.

Pregnancy is nothing short of remarkable when you consider everything that must fall into place perfectly to conceive, sustain, and deliver a healthy child. While the process can feel overwhelming, women's bodies are uniquely equipped for this lifegiving role. The resilience and strength demonstrated through pregnancy and childbirth are incredible and empowering.

For example, pregnancy is often described as a marathon--and for good reason: A woman's cardiovascular strength expands when her pregnancy is carried to full term, and her risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke are significantly reduced later in life. From the long-term well-being that motherhood can inspire with a commitment to healthier habits to the protected effects of breastfeeding associated with the reduced risk of breast cancer, these changes offer life-sustaining gifts.

In fact, research suggests that women who have children later in life often experience greater longevity. Women's bodies were seemingly designed to break the limits and then keep going.

As we continue to build a life-affirming society in this Dobbs era, our ongoing challenge is to continue championing the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of pregnancy and of motherhood.

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Mrs. HYDE-SMITH.

While my colleague's bill seemingly aims to assist expecting mothers with the burdensome cost of pregnancy and childbirth, I would like to point out that this legislative effort is not designed for success, and it has zero bipartisan support.

However, bipartisan support in this arena is possible, and I am so grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have worked with me on the Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act. I introduced this effort last year with Senators Kaine, Gillibrand, and Hawley to insulate expecting parents from the high cost of pregnancy and childbirth by eliminating cost-sharing requirements for prenatal, childbirth, neonatal, perinatal, or post-partum healthcare. Bringing a child into the world is costly enough without piling on cost-share fees that saddle many mothers and families with debt. The bill would take away some of the burden for childbearing generations.

My hope is that if we can relieve the financial stresses associated with pregnancy and childbirth, more families will be encouraged to embrace the beautiful gift and the responsibility that comes with parenthood.

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