Dick Durbin: “this debate is not something I look forward to on the floor of the Senate. This is one of the toughest issues any…”

“this debate is not something I look forward to on the floor of the Senate. This is one of the toughest issues any elected official ever has to face. It is highly controversial. In my home State of Illinois, in my hometown of Springfield, virtually everywhere I travel, there is a strong difference of opinion on the issue of abortion. I understand that, and I really have to say as to all those who come to the floor today on either side of this issue, we should never question their motives because I think each and every one of us has tried to search our soul to find out what is fair and what is just. In many instances here, we are talking about things beyond our expertise as individuals. Some of us are lawyers, some have other backgrounds. Very few, if any of us, have medical credentials. But we come today to consider something which is historic, and that is that we would ban in the United States a medical procedure. To my knowledge, that has never been done. It is being done here under the pretense that it is the humane and right thing to do. Yet when you speak to the professionals, those who do this for a living, the obstetricians and gynecologists, they basically tell you, be careful, because you can't really predict in every instance what a mother might face late in a pregnancy.”