Patrick Kennedy: “I want to say, it is really unbelievable to me that we are really on this floor discussing this issue. This is not an…”

“I want to say, it is really unbelievable to me that we are really on this floor discussing this issue. This is not an issue of Row v. Wade. That issue has been decided. Women in this country have a constitutional right to have a safe, legal abortion. This country made a decision to do that because it did not like the public health impacts of having abortion illegal. Like it or not, women were being killed in back-alley abortions; and the fact is we changed the law and the Constitution of the United States reflects that a woman has a right to a legal, safe abortion so her health is not in jeopardy. That is a public health issue. Now what we are talking about is, these Constitutional rights are not selective. We cannot just say, 'I want free speech just in Rhode Island and I do not want free speech in California.' This is a constitutional right that applies to every single American. And for us to say it will not apply to the Americans, our soldiers, our women in uniform who are defending our rights overseas to me is unconscionable. The story here, Mr. Chairman, is that these are United States servicewomen and their lives are going to be put in jeopardy if we do not pass this amendment and make this bill protect a woman's right to have a legal and safe abortion.”