I testified today in the U.S. House of Representatives, to the Democrat-controlled House Committee on the Judiciary for their inflammatory and tragically named “Revoking Your Rights: The Ongoing Crisis in Abortion Care Access.”

I was the sole pro-life witness and was surrounded by three pro-abortion activists. I was grateful for Rep. Jim Jordan’s invitation to appear on behalf of the human right to life, though the confrontational dynamics of pro-abortion Members of Congress was disheartening at times.

We’re sharing my opening statement from the House Committee on the Judiciary’s footage from their coverage of the hearing below, as well as my written testimony in support of the human right to life. I’m including my spoken testimony below.

Opening Statement on the Reality of Abortion Violence

Spoken Testimony on the Reality of Abortion Violence and the Human Right to Life

We’re here today because there is a crisis in America.

The crisis we’re confronting is abortion—not abortion “care”, not abortion “access”, not abortion “choice”. No, we’re here today because there is a crisis in America concerning abortion itself—full stop.

We’re approaching 65 million Americans dead from abortion. I know this firsthand. At 19, I aborted my first child. I was alone. I felt emotional and psychological pressure to end my child’s life. So many voices in the culture lied to me—so many told me abortion was “OK”, normal—good, even. I’ve lived with the regret of abortion every day of my life since.

Abortion was damaging to me and deadly for my child. The truth is, abortion is always damaging and deadly.

I understand that the other women on this panel today believe differently. I know their stories and I’ve read their testimony. What is never addressed in their testimony is the simple reality of abortion violence.

Abortion activism always requires euphemism and misdirection. Why? Because the violent nature of abortion is, frankly, inconvenient. Human persons, from their earliest days, poisoned in the womb and dismembered, torn limb from limb. Bodies thrown in medical waste bins and, in places like Washington, DC, burned to power the lights of the city’s homes and streets. Let that image sit with you for a moment. The next time you turn on the light, think of the incinerators, and what we’re doing to ourselves so callously and so numbly.

Always and everywhere, the convictions of pro-abortion activists are damaging, deadly, and devastating to the fabric of American democracy. To speak for the violence of abortion is to speak for injustice—there’s no other way to put it.

We once had allegedly serious citizens in America speak for slavery—many fought and even died to perpetuate that injustice. It seems incredible to us today. But Americans can and will overcome the injustice of abortion, just as Americans did finally overcome the injustice of slavery.

Indeed, we’re here today because the U.S. Supreme Court appears to be on the verge of reversing Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Roe and Casey are widely regarded as the Court’s gravest and most profound mistakes since Dred Scott or Plessy.

The future of America—a post-Roe America—is a future full of hope. Roe‘s reversal will make it possible for America’s lawmakers to once more affirmatively protect the human right to life and to enshrine law and policy that makes abortion unthinkable even for those most vulnerable to abortion propaganda.

Despite this historic moment, pro-abortion members of Congress recently voted to enshrine abortion in a more systemically unjust way even than Roe. Codifying Roe would threaten to invalidate state informed consent protections. Codifying Roe would threaten to invalidate reflection periods, consumer tele-med protections, state prohibitions against race, sex, or genetic discrimination, and state laws protecting human persons at or before the point of viability. Nowhere do efforts to codify Roe into federal law mention either the child or the democratic will of the American people. Everything real about the mother and child evaporates into thin air.

The American people, through their elected officials, recognize the need for basic oversight, for genuine informed consent, and for the interests of the child to matter. It is pro-abortion Members of Congress who are out of step with the American people. It is a biological reality that a preborn child is a member of the human family. We want a true constitutional order that equally protects all members of the human family. Even President Biden, despite being bought and paid for by corporate abortion money, acknowledged the truth earlier this month that at the center of every abortion is—and this was his word—a child.

Abortion is fundamentally unjust. Abortion deprives our brothers and sisters of the equal protection of the laws. Abortion turns equals into unequals. Abortion empowers the strong at the expense of the vulnerable. And it makes us all less human and less humane along the way.

We must confront the violence of abortion. And that can begin the moment we’re willing to confront the reality of abortion. I extend my hand in friendship to any American whose heart has changed, as mine did.

We must learn to live and to thrive together. We’re Americans—we’re up to the challenge.

What Does a Post-Roe America Look Like?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Dobbs will shape the struggle for the human right to life for years to come. Americans United for Life released this short video on May 2nd, the day of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs draft leak. If you believe as we believe, join with Americans United for Life at this pivotal time in our nation’s history. The struggle for the hearts of the American people is nearly won, and the lives of untold millions yet unborn hang in the balance.

Rep. Johnson Advances AUL’s Vision: ‘We Never Really Wanted Roe’s Reversal to Make Abortion a State Issue Where Some States Protect Life and Other States Continue to Kill and Dismember’

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA 4) attempted to smear Catherine Glenn Foster by quoting extensively from Americans United for Life’s, “What Does a Post-Roe America Look Like?,” short video, which shares our vision for a future full of hope. Rep. Johnson instead revealed his own extreme pro-abortion attitudes, where the thriving of some would be achieved at the cost of abortion violence. “A more humane and a more just America would provide protection and resources for all human beings,” underscored Catherine Glenn Foster.

President Biden: At the Center of Every Abortion is a Child

Catherine Glenn Foster highlighted President Joe Biden’s remarks earlier this month, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs draft opinion leak, where President Biden referred not to a “child”—not “potential life,” not a “clump of cells”—at the center of every abortion.

Rep. Jamie Raskin’s Insincerity Backfires

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD 8) raised the tragic circumstances of abortions in cases of rape and incest. In a moment that has gone viral, Rep. Raskin reveals in this short exchange that he would not even entertain a pro-life position, regardless of abortion exceptions. We can only navigate these culture war issues if we’re sincere in how we approach them. Rep. Raskin’s insincerity was a shame:

Rep. Raskin: “[Catherine Glenn Foster] is calling for a nationwide ban on abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest.”

Catherine Glenn Foster: “If we added rape and incest exceptions, would you vote for it?”

Raskin: “I reclaim my time.”

Rep. Burgess Owens on Abortion and Margaret Sanger’s Legacy

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT 4) spoke on the tragic history of Planned Parenthood and abortion’s impact, as well as Margaret Sanger’s legacy.

“Go Ask Planned Parenthood…”

Rep. Owens offered Catherine Glenn Foster a moment to highlight Planned Parenthood’s lack of holistic choices or care for women experiencing unexpected pregnancies.

“Increase Resources for Pregnant and Parenting Women”

Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN 7) spoke on the U.S. Supreme Court’s exercise of “raw judicial power” to “abruptly end the political process” and to “create a right that did not exist.” Catherine Glenn Foster emphasized the need for increasing resources for pregnant and parenting women and noted that every woman who has had an abortion “has been left down in some way” and “pushed” to accept only abortion rather than enjoy a range of life-affirming choices.

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