Barbara Boxer: “I think both Senators from Illinois did a very special service to this body by bringing the issue out of theory, out of…”

“I think both Senators from Illinois did a very special service to this body by bringing the issue out of theory, out of cartoon drawings of women's bodies which, frankly, many of us find offensive on the floor, to the reality of what happens in families today. The story she has told about Vikki Stella is a story that, unfortunately, too many of our families go through. A loving family, a wanted and loved child, suddenly learning at the end of a pregnancy that something has gone terribly wrong, danger to the woman, danger to her family, and at that point I think what the Senator has put in such good terms in this debate: Who do we want to make the decision of what is best for her? Do we want that family, that doctor, and their God to make this decision? Or do we want a U.S. Senator to make that decision and take a tool away from a physician, a physician who says he or she needs that tool to save that mother's life? I think the answer is clearly, if we are a civilized society, we can walk down together on this bill.”