[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S66-S67]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                ABORTION

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 50 years ago this last Sunday, the Supreme 
Court ruled that reproductive healthcare in America is a 
constitutionally protected right and that Americans have the freedom to 
make the most personal decision imaginable: when--and whether--to start 
a family. The case was called Roe v. Wade.
  For those who were alive when it was decided, we remember what it 
meant for millions of Americans: the freedom to make their own 
reproductive health decisions. Remember, at the time Roe was decided in 
1973, our Nation had a long, long way to go in living up to the promise 
of equal justice under the law. As just one example, women were often 
required, at that time in history, to ask their husbands for permission 
to apply for credit cards. In many banks, widowers and divorced women 
had to bring along a man who would cosign for a credit card. Can you 
imagine that?
  Fifty years later, we still have a long way to go, of course, but Roe 
was a breakthrough. It was a vision of an America that could be looking 
to the future of opportunity.
  Well, today, sadly, marks a very different anniversary. You see, it 
was 7 months ago today when six rightwing, judicial activists on the 
Supreme Court sent us back in time. Of course, I am referring to the 
Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health 
Organization--the crowning achievement of the Republican-led, decades-
long campaign to overturn Roe and abolish reproductive rights in 
America.
  The Dobbs ruling is one of the most irresponsible and dangerous 
decisions ever handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. It ripped away a 
constitutional right from individuals, handing it over to politicians 
in suits.
  With the Dobbs decision, the ultraconservative majority not only 
overturned a nearly 50-year-old precedent that had been reaffirmed 
many, many times, they twisted the facts to reach the outcome they 
wanted.
  What do I mean by that? Well, in his majority opinion, Justice Alito 
claimed that abortion cannot be constitutionally protected because it 
is not ``deeply rooted in the Nation's history and tradition.'' He is 
wrong because whatever you think about abortion, it has deep roots in 
our country. As the dissenting Justices in Dobbs wrote, 
``embarrassingly for the majority--early law in fact does provide some 
support for abortion rights.''
  The dissent noted that common law authorities did not treat abortion 
as a crime before the point of fetal movement in the womb--also known 
as quickening. And as Justice Alito himself conceded, historians 
dispute whether prequickening abortions were punished before the 19th 
century.
  So there is no credibility to Justice Alito's argument for 
overturning Roe. It wasn't originalism by any stretch. It wasn't 
textualism. It was an ideologically motivated outcome based on 
historical cherry-picking.
  Someone asked the question the other day: After this decision, should 
the Justices be asked to wear red and blue robes instead of black 
robes?
  Over the past 7 months, Republican lawmakers picked up right where 
the Thomas-Alito Court left off. In State after State, they have ripped 
away reproductive rights from millions of Americans.
  Overturning Roe v. Wade has unleashed a healthcare crisis in our 
country. In just 7 months, 24 States have banned or severely restricted 
access to abortion or are preparing to do so. Many of these bans 
provide no exceptions, even for rape and incest victims, and many are 
insufficient in protecting the health and lives of mothers. And all of 
these bans have added layers and layers of government bureaucracy for 
women seeking emergency care.

  If these Republican lawmakers have actually listened to all of the 
medical professionals who sounded the alarm on overturning Roe, if 
these lawmakers had actually listened to all of the Americans who took 
to the streets in protest or the millions of voters who rejected their 
radical agenda, then maybe you would understand the simple, 
indisputable truth: You cannot ban abortion out of existence.
  The only thing these laws have changed, if anything, is pushing women 
into dangerous and deadly situations. We have already seen the barbaric 
consequences in these Republican abortion bans. And they haven't just 
endangered the lives of women living in red States; they have put every 
woman in danger.
  Christina Zielke is one of those women. She recently shared her story

[[Page S67]]

on NPR. This past July, Christina and her husband were overjoyed when 
they discovered she was pregnant. It was their first pregnancy. But 
that joy turned to sorrow after the first ultrasound. The doctors 
couldn't detect a heartbeat, and they concluded it was a miscarriage.
  When Christina asked the doctor, ``What do I do next,'' the doctor 
recommended giving her body time to pass the pregnancy tissue--a 
process that can take days or even weeks. So Christina and her husband 
decided to wait and move on with their lives.
  Soon after that appointment, the two of them drove from their home in 
Washington, DC, to Ohio to attend a family wedding. But during the 
drive, Christina started bleeding. She assumed her body had finally 
passed the pregnancy tissue. But later, in the middle of the night, she 
started bleeding again. It was serious.
  It was at that time that Christina and her husband, at the advice of 
a nurse, went to an emergency room in Painesville, OH. Now, remember, 
Christina's doctor had already told her that her pregnancy ended in a 
miscarriage. But when she arrived at that Ohio hospital, the medical 
staff refused to provide her any care because they were afraid of 
violating Ohio's new abortion ban.
  So while Christina was still in danger, still bleeding, and carrying 
a fetus with no heartbeat, the hospital discharged her and refused to 
treat her. She objected, even showing them her records confirming the 
miscarriage. She was ignored and sent home.
  Hours later, she returned to that same ER. By that point, she had 
lost so much blood she had lost consciousness. The paramedics had to 
use a sheet to pull her limp body out of a bathtub and onto a 
stretcher. Christina's family thought she was going to die. And let's 
be blunt: The only reason her life was in peril was because of Ohio's 
State law banning abortion.
  This is America's post-Roe reality: women denied urgent care because 
doctors and nurses are afraid of breaking State laws. Ohio's abortion 
ban subjects healthcare providers who violate it to felony charges, up 
to a year in prison, loss of medical licenses, and fines up to $20,000. 
The law is so unclear in Ohio that even medical professionals struggle 
to navigate its narrow exceptions.
  When you hear stories like that by Christina, imagine if it was a 
member of your family--your wife, the mother of your children, people 
who want to live desperately and simply need the healthcare to make it 
happen--it is really no surprise that Americans are fleeing red States 
to access essential healthcare in blue States.
  My State of Illinois, for instance, has become a leader on 
reproductive freedom--a so-called oasis. Every single State that we 
border has either restricted abortion or abandoned it outright. For 
women living in the Midwest, our reproductive health facilities are 
indispensable. Look at the numbers. Before Roe was overturned, only 6 
percent of women seeking abortions at Illinois Planned Parenthood 
facilities traveled from out of State--6 percent. Since the Dobbs 
decision, that number has jumped to 30 percent.
  And I want to commend our State's leadership because they stepped in 
to provide care for women who have been betrayed by their own States. 
Earlier this month, Governor Pritzker signed a bill into law protecting 
women traveling to Illinois for reproductive care. Sadly, these efforts 
to protect reproductive freedom have also made Illinois providers a 
target. Just 2 days ago, after Governor Pritzker signed a bill into 
law, someone firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Peoria--a clinic 
that doesn't even perform surgical abortions.
  In post-Roe America, the mere act of seeking reproductive advice and 
care--even for a procedure as simple as a Pap smear--has taken on new 
risks. Lawmakers on both sides need to condemn this and any form of 
politically motivated violence against any person or entity.
  If there is any doubt that the Dobbs decision has unleashed chaos, 
consider the impact on maternal health outcomes. Even before Roe was 
overturned, our Nation had the highest maternal mortality rate in the 
developed world--America, the highest maternal mortality rate in the 
developed world. And as of 2020, those death rates are more than 60 
percent higher in States with abortion restrictions.
  This is not a problem without a solution: Studies show that more than 
four in five pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. These mothers 
can be saved. And one way to prevent them is by expanding access to 
postpartum health coverage. That is why I have worked with Illinois 
Congresswoman Robin Kelly to pass a law that gives States the option to 
expand health coverage under Medicaid from 60 days postpartum to a full 
year. We led this effort because in our State, one-third of pregnancy-
related deaths happen after 60 days postpartum.
  So for States that have now outlawed abortion, you would imagine the 
first thing they would do is to take advantage of this new benefit and 
expand health coverage for its expecting mothers on Medicaid. That 
sounds like a no-brainer, right? Apparently not. Today, there are 15 
States that have not extended Medicaid postpartum coverage, and 12 of 
these States have also passed laws restricting abortion. If they are 
truly dedicated to the new mother and her baby, why wouldn't they give 
them healthcare coverage for a full year after the baby is born to save 
their lives and the babies' lives?
  So if you are a woman living in a State like Idaho or South Dakota, 
you can be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, but once you have had 
your baby, those States--Idaho and South Dakota--refuse to cover your 
healthcare during the most critical, dangerous postpartum period.
  Let's get real. There is no world in which this position can be 
described as ``pro-life.''
  We in the Senate can make a difference for all the women in America 
who have been abandoned by their States, and we can do it by restoring 
and codifying the right to reproductive freedom by passing pro-family 
policies, like the MOMMA's Act, which mandates Medicaid expansion and 
postpartum coverage.
  Unfortunately, it seems the new MAGA majority in the House has other 
plans in mind. Just this past week, Majority Leader Steve Scalise 
pledged to a group of anti-choice activists that the overturning of Roe 
was ``only the first phase of this battle.'' Those are his words. His 
Republican colleagues have already made good on it. Less than 1 month 
into the new Congress, House Republicans have introduced a dozen anti-
abortion bills.
  Here is my promise: Every one of those bills is destined to fail if 
it comes to the Senate. They are going nowhere because this majority 
and President Biden understand that all Americans deserve reproductive 
rights. And until we have a Congress and Supreme Court willing to 
protect those rights, we need to do everything in our power to stand 
against this extremist, anti-choice agenda.
  I yield the floor.

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