Kendrick Meek: “Mr. Chairman, the gentlemen from whom we have heard tonight have every right to support their ideologies against…”

“Mr. Chairman, the gentlemen from whom we have heard tonight have every right to support their ideologies against abortion. That is their right. It is their personal ideology, and I cannot disapprove of their personal ideology; but I only ask them one thing. It is not their right to impose their personal beliefs to the Congress or to this country. If I had my way, there would be a lot of my personal beliefs that I would be able to impose on this Congress, but the Constitution of this country does not give me that right. It does not give any man in this country the right to choose a woman's right to choose. It is her right; and if she does not follow her religious and moral constraints, she has to pay for it. I do not have to pay for hers, but as an elected official I cannot say this because I agree or disagree with someone then they do not have a right to choose. No matter how poignant the stories or the anecdotal information we have heard here tonight, it does not give anyone the right to choose. I support the DeLauro amendment. I believe in justice and fairness to women, as well as to men.”