Barbara Boxer: “the question asked very eloquently by my friend is: How low have we sunk? I say pretty low, when we have a bill before…”

“the question asked very eloquently by my friend is: How low have we sunk? I say pretty low, when we have a bill before us that doesn't even have an exception for the health of a woman. I get caught up in my throat when I think about it. Women like Viki Wilson, women who are religious, women who desperately want children, women who were told, as she was--and I will read her story-- that if she didn't have a procedure outlawed in this bill, she could never have a child again, and worse. So I think we sink pretty low when we write a bill that doesn't even have an exception that has been the law of this land since 1973 in a Supreme Court case that is still upheld, which says, yes, we can act to limit abortion, but we always have to make an exception for the life and the health of a woman. That is my position. I have said on this floor, along with many of my pro-choice colleagues who are Democrats and Republicans, we would ban all late-term abortions, except for the life and health of the woman. My view is anyone who comes to this floor to ban a medical procedure that could save the life and health of a woman and doesn't have that exception, is sinking very low. It shows a lack of respect for women, a lack of respect for their lives, their future ability to have children, to love children, and for their future as healthy women. I will show you a list of problems that could develop in women if they don't have the procedures that are banned in this bill.”