WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor yesterday about the future of Roe v. Wade following the leak of a draft majority opinion on the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
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“It appears that in a matter of weeks, we may soon live in a country where women have fewer Constitutional rights than their parents or grandparents,” Durbin said. “In one bold move, the ultra-conservative activist majority on the Supreme Court appears poised to erase the Constitutional right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term.”
While Durbin went on to say the leak was an “unprecedented breach of the Court’s confidential deliberations” which may harm public trust in the Court, he said he wonders why Senate Republicans have focused on the draft rather than the implications of the leaked opinion.
“Sadly, many Republicans are desperately trying to deflect from this ruling and what it means for every single American,” Durbin said.
“In the past, when the Court has taken the serious step of overturning settled law, it has done so to expand freedom, expand opportunity, not eliminate it,” Durbin continued. “What the activist, anti-choice majority on this Court would do is unprecedented, radical and dangerous.”
Durbin, who also serves as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on his colleagues in the Senate to support the Women’s Health Protection Act, which the Senate is scheduled to vote on tomorrow.
“This bill will codify the right to provide [and] obtain an abortion free from medically unnecessary restrictions,” Durbin said. “The American people deserve to know where their Senators stand. I will not stop fighting for the right of every American - especially the women of America - to have these rights as established for over 50 years.”
Durbin concluded his speech by criticizing his Republican colleague’s lack of support for measures like child tax credits and paid family leave, saying they fall short of supporting “family values.”
“For years, the Republicans have claimed they are a party for families, the party of family values, yet they spent decades ignoring the needs of working families,” Durbin said. “Republicans are willing to force women to carry unwanted or unexpected or even dangerous pregnancies to term, but they are not willing to help them raise the children.”
Footage of Durbin’s full speech can be found on his YouTube channel.
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