Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Durbin for introducing this very important measure for the women of this Nation. Today, we continue debate on the critical issue of allowing women to choose what is right for them, their health and their families. In 1973--26 years ago now--the Supreme Court affirmed for the first time a woman's right to choose. This landmark decision was carefully crafted to be both balanced and responsible while holding the rights of women in America paramount in reproductive decisions. It is clear that the underlying Santorum bill does not hold the rights of women paramount--instead it infringes on those rights in the most grievous of circumstances. Indeed, S. 3 undermines basic tenets of Roe v. Wade, which maintained that women have a constitutional right to an abortion, but after viability--the time at which it first becomes realistically possible for fetal life to be maintained outside the woman's body--States could ban abortions only if they also allowed exceptions for cases in which a woman's life or health is endangered.”