Dick Durbin: “At the risk of reading what has been read many times: It shall be unlawful for a physician to intentionally abort a…”

“At the risk of reading what has been read many times: It shall be unlawful for a physician to intentionally abort a viable fetus unless the physician prior to performing the abortion-- (1) certifies in writing . . . The premise of this amendment is viability. Now, I will concede the point, there are fetuses in the 35th week and later that are not viable, will never survive outside the womb. But the premise here is the fact that you must be dealing with a viable fetus in order for this prohibition to apply and for the exceptions to be applied, as well. For the Senator to continue to ignore this clear language, I have to say I am prepared to defend what is written here. I am not prepared to defend what the Senator refuses to read.”