Jeanne Shaheen: “I am pleased to join my colleagues today because I strongly oppose this legislation. I oppose it because it would…”

“I am pleased to join my colleagues today because I strongly oppose this legislation. I oppose it because it would significantly interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. And I oppose it because it would pose unnecessary and harmful obstacles to a woman's right--to all women's right to make our own decisions about our own reproductive health. This legislation has one purpose, and that is to make safe abortion services even more inaccessible by intimidating doctors with the threat of criminal liability. This is fearmongering at its finest. And by choosing to focus on this bill during President Trump's first week in office, some Republicans--and I say some because they don't all support this bill--are choosing to politicize a family's problem instead of focusing on making life easier, more affordable, and better for all Americans, which President Trump promised when he was campaigning when he said he wasn't interested in a Federal law that would outlaw abortions. Abortions performed later in pregnancy are rare, and they are done as the result of fatal diagnoses for the fetus, the mother, or both. These are tragic, heartbreaking situations that no one--I am going to repeat that--that no one wants. And by inserting new uncertainty and risk of criminal liability into the process, this legislation only further increases the risk that a woman will not be able to get the medical care that she needs.…”