W. Todd Akin: “I once again come to this floor, to this body to a debate on the issue of abortion in overseas military hospitals. And I…”

“I once again come to this floor, to this body to a debate on the issue of abortion in overseas military hospitals. And I would urge my colleagues to honor the consciences of the caregivers and also the taxpayers who fund these facilities. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, as a former military officer, but also as a father with two sons in the military, I have seen the dedication of our troops. I have even heard very-close-to-home accounts of people that are willing to sacrifice their lives so that we could have life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness in this land. And is it so odd then to make the next step to understand that the young men and women who are entering our medical divisions of the armed services also hold the same set of values? And now, are we going to compel these people to be active and to take part in destroying life when they are risking their lives to protect life? It seems to make no sense whatsoever to compel them to do this thing. Well, in fact when the Clinton administration overturned the DOD policy against abortion in 1993 through 1996, military physicians refused to perform or assist in elective abortions, thus forcing the administration to spend additional taxpayer dollars on recruiting and hiring civilians who would do the abortions. Now, this government should never condone abortion by turning military hospitals into abortion clinics with the taxpayers picking up the tab.…”