Political Quotes

“tomorrow marks the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade recognizing a woman's constitutional right to liberty and personal autonomy in her decision of whether to have an abortion or not. This landmark case not only recognizes those rights, but it is also responsible for saving countless women across the country from the devastating and deadly outcomes of back-alley abortions. I want to speak to that because I have some personal knowledge here. I was a young State's attorney in Vermont before Roe v. Wade, and I will never forget getting a call in the middle of the night from the police and going with them to the emergency room of the local hospital. The young woman who was there had nearly died from an unsafe, illegal abortion because she could not legally receive that care from a doctor. I want to speak of that tragic history today because I feel the current effort in many States to roll back Roe v. Wade by denying women access to doctors could drag women back to those dark and dangerous times. In the years leading up to the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, I was the State's attorney in Chittenden County, VT. Abortion was illegal in my State of Vermont. Despite the State ban, many women desperately needed and sought this medical care, and some doctors risked their freedom and livelihood by providing women with abortions at local hospitals.…”