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(Walter) My son who is alive and well today,
was alive but not well in 1984.
He was born three months premature, weighing in at two
pounds, one ounce.
The day after my son was born, his weight
dropped down to one pound, nine ounces. That
day after the doctors prepared us for his
death, I held my son in the palm of my hand,
like you would hold a pen or a pencil, for
what I thought was the last time. And I looked
into his eyes, counted his toes, felt the
impact of his head, his legs, and arms against
the palm of my hand, I realized that this
is what a child looks like on the inside of
the womb of his or her mother.
I realized I was holding my son, not a blob
of tissue. I realized I was holding a child,
and not just any child, but my child. My son
was doing everything he could to live. It
was at that moment God touched my heart and
made me understand that what was on the inside
of the woman was indeed a person, a living,
breathing, human being that deserves to be
protected by love and by law. That day in
the hospital holding my son in the palm of
my hand, the personhood of the child inside
the womb of his or her mother rang true in
my heart. Today I stand before you as sponsor
of the California Human Rights Amendment,
an amendment that clearly defines a child
inside the womb of his or her mother as a
person -- a living, breathing, human being
whose humanity is inherent, inalienable, and
self-evident. The California Human Rights
Amendment affirms the sanctity of life from
the beginning of our biological development
until the end of our lives. The California
Human Rights Amendment embraces all of us
regardless of the means by which we were procreated
or reproduced. The California Human Rights
Amendment protects all of us regardless of
our age, race, sex, gender, physical well-being,
function, or condition of physical or mental
dependency, and/or disability.
The California Human Rights Amendment recognizes
that value in a human life is a fundamental
to life itself. And it is the cornerstone
of peace and prosperity for any society. As
I reflect on the birth of my son, and how
I held him at one pound nine ounces in the
palm of my hand, the California Human Rights
Amendment rings clear in my conscience and
true in my heart.
Join us today that we reach into our hearts
and out to the great state of California with
the love for life that can never be quenched
by requesting title and summary for the California
Human Rights Amendment. Thank you.
(Lila) Each year in California over 200,000
preborn human beings are killed because they
are considered non-persons. Our fellow Californians
still in-utero are very much alive but are
poisoned, lacerated, and decapitated everyday
in surgical or medical procedures that tear
them limb-from-limb and stop their tiny, beating
hearts. This horrific human rights abuse is
perfectly legal in our great state because
the pre-born, while demonstrably alive and
demonstrably human, are not protected persons
under our state constitution. A just society
must welcome the weak as well as the strong.
And just laws must protect the rights of the
weakest. That is why the most unjust laws
are those that deny personhood to the weakest
human beings. There is no weaker or more defenseless
human being than the tiny child just beginning
his or her life. Every one of us has started
our lives in weakness and we will end our
lives in weakness. Our laws must protect each
person's basic human right to life from the
beginning of his or her life until the end.
We all once these tiny, preborn children,
and thank God, those who were stronger than
us welcomed us and did not kill us. Every
human being must be welcomed by our society
and protected by our laws. So on behalf of
the littlest Californians, I proudly co-sponsor
the California Human Rights Amendment.
(Igmacio) I am here to let you know that this
legislation will also be reaching out to the
Hispanic community. I've seen first-hand the
Latino community in the Dominican Republic,
who is a culture of life. We went, a team of
us, to the Dominican Republic, to support
this new legislation -- constitutional reform
-- where life is protected from the moment
of fertilization. And the legislation passed,
proving that the Latino community is a culture
of life.
(Spanish)
(Judie) Today Californian has a golden opportunity
to lead the United States of America in advancing
the cause of civil rights, human rights, and
equal rights for all human beings, born and
pre-born. American Life League is here to
extend our gratitude to Pastor Walter Hoye
for taking up this important challenge at
a crucial moment in our nation's history.
This is an enormous step toward establishing
equal protection under the law for every innocent
human person regardless of where that individual
lives, regardless of how that individual was
procreated. Today American Life League calls
among the people of California to respect
the human rights of all, regardless of their
age, health, or condition of humanity, including
the rights of those not yet born. The time
for false claims against these children is
over. A new day has dawned in this great state.
There is a body of empirical, medical, and
scientific facts that shows beyond a shadow
of a doubt that a human being exists from
the point of his creation. This includes the
single-cell human embryo. The Roe v. Wade
Supreme Court decision was wrong. It was based
on false evidence. And I stand here today
to call upon the people of California to turn
the tide, to make it clear, that in California
every single human being will be provided
with equal rights under the law, human rights
under the law, and civil rights under the
law by supporting the personhood proposal
which is before the state right now. I am
honored to be here today and I pray for the
success of this effort in the state of California.
Thank you.