Statement of Michael Lenz

Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution

Hearing on H.R. 2436, the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 1999"

Wednesday, July 21, 1999

Committee members, I would like to give you some background on myself and my late wife Carrie Lenz.

We met in the spring of 1986. I had recently moved from the City of Tulsa to Oklahoma City. Carrie was a high school senior at Moore, OK. We began dating, she graduated high school and went on to College, and I took a job back in Tulsa and then in Ponca City. All the while, we maintained our relationship. I eventually took a job that required extensive travel around the country, and although it was difficult at times, our long distance relationship worked because we were both committed to the same ideas and goals. (Our plan) First, she would graduate from college. I would get promoted over the State of Oklahoma. Then we would get married, and when we thought we were mentally and financially prepared, we would have children.

While Carrie was attending college, she took a part time position with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms under the "Stay in School" program. As the Oklahoma City ATF office grew, their need for a full time position grew as well. Carrie then transferred to a position with the U.S. Secret Service Administration under the same program until she graduated from college. After graduation, she accepted a position with the Drug Enforcement Administration through EBON, a company contracted with the Department of Justice to assist in the Asset Forfeiture program. Since her first job with Federal Law Enforcement, Carrie and I were always extremely proud to be a part, albeit a small part, of our government.

Our plans all came together in the fall of 1991 (September 14) when we were finally married. Married...Yes. Financially ready to raise a family? Not Yet. That didn't come until 1993. Seven years after we first met, we believed we were finally ready to start our family.

I'm telling you all of this to give you some background on our relationship and our goals, and maybe to give you some insight on what it might be like to have a seven-year plan blown up in your face.

We began trying to have children 1993. After several months with no success, we sought assistance from a fertility doctor who put Carrie on some medication, and we continued our efforts at beginning a family. With no success, in early 1994 the doctor recommended exploratory surgery, which she under went. A few months later, she informed me that she was pregnant. We were so thrilled, but our excitement would not last long. With weekly monitoring, the doctor discovered Carrie had an ectopic pregnancy and that the fetus had died. In November of that same year, Carrie again informed me that she was pregnant, and we both prayed that this would prove a better pregnancy than the first. The doctor confirmed our hopes by telling us everything appeared to be healthy and normal at our first ultrasound.

In the months that followed, we prepared our home for the new baby. We purchased a changing table and baby bed, and Carrie was trying to get the nursery ready when we decided it would be easier if we knew the sex of our child. We didn't have a set name if the child was a girl, but if we were having a boy, we had both agreed his name would be Michael James Lenz, III. So on the afternoon of April 18, 1995, we met at the hospital for an additional ultrasound to determine the sex of our baby. Carrie was so nervous. As I held her hand, the pictures on the monitor came into view. The heart beat, a little hand and arm, and then you could see the face of our child. Finally the baby moved a little, and the nurse said "Congratulations! You're having a boy!" We looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Michael James Lenz, III." He had his name. Then, with a kiss and "I Love You," I left the room. We were so happy we even paid for extra ultrasound pictures to show off. When we arrived home that evening, we called all of our friends and relatives to tell them the news. We didn't know it at the time, but that would be the last time Carrie spoke to the people she loved most.

The next the morning Carrie, who was usually 15 to 20 minutes late to work, left the house early to show everyone at work the pictures of our son, Michael. I left for work at about 8:30 that morning, a happy, expectant father of my first child . . . my son . . . Michael. At 9:02 A.M. on April 19, 1995, it all shattered, when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was blown up. A seven-year plan, gone. Just Blown up. At 9:03 A.M. that morning I was no longer an expecting father or husband. At 28 years old, I was a widower.

I don't care to go into the details of what happened to me in the months followings the bombing, but please ask yourself, "Would having a part of your loved one in the form of a child would make your grieving easier?" I think it would. Therefore, the loss of that potential life is worth an immeasurable amount to me. Let's say for the sake of argument that Carrie was not killed by that act of violence, but that shrapnel entered the womb and killed Michael. Is it safe to assume that would have an ill effect on her child bearing capacity, not only physically, but emotionally, for the rest of her life? I am no doctor, but I would have to think it would. In this scenario, a seven-year plan is still gone and possibly any future plans. Should we as people allow that act of violence to remain a victimless crime? No Michael the 3^rd ever mentioned? I don't think that would be right. In any case, I lost the two people I loved most that day, and the official death toll for the Murrah Bombing remains at 168. In addition to Carrie, there were two other expecting mothers in the building that day that died. Three babies.

Passing this bill won't bring my wife and son back to me, but it would go along way toward at least recognizing Michael's life and the loss of seven years of responsible actions to gain that life. Violent criminal acts that result in the death of a potential life is worth prosecution on its own merits, regardless of the other counts against the defendant. As the only survivor of a family of three, in my case, it would only be right. Regardless of your vote on this, in my mind 171 people lost their lives that day, and three "Daddies to be" became widowers.

Thank You for your time. Michael James Lenz, Jr