Political Quotes

“today is a proud day but also a painful one for me. I am proud because I am honored and proud to join my distinguished colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen, and others on the floor. I was proud to join Connecticut organizations and advocates this morning in Hartford for a rally that involved Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut, the Women's March of Connecticut, AIDS Connecticut, and the Center for Medicare Advocacy. These groups are proud and steadfast and have strong activists who joined me to support a woman's right to determine her medical future, the right of privacy, and the constitutional right to be left alone, as one of the Supreme Court Justices once called it. It was a proud moment for me also because it reminded me of my days as a law clerk for Justice Harry Blackmun, who was the author of Roe v. Wade and who taught me the constitutional principle that underlies a woman's right to determine her own healthcare decisions. Harry Blackmun was a Republican appointee. He was a Republican before he became a jurist. But there was nothing partisan for him--and there should be nothing partisan for us--about this decision. I am tempted to call this 20-week abortion ban a Republican proposal, but when I think about the Republicans I know--and especially Justice Harry Blackmun, whom I revered--there is nothing Republican about this proposal.…”