Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. I thank my colleague from the State of Washington for her eloquence and leadership on this issue, as I do my colleague from California. She has been steadfast and strong in support of a woman's right to make choices about reproductive rights. She is absolutely right; we are not going away.

This bill that will be introduced later today from our colleague from South Carolina--as much as we respect him--is a nonstarter because it is nonsensical and unconstitutional. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year. We could not have been clearer then, and we should be very clear now, that it is inappropriate, unwise, and unfair. It remains so today and will be so for as long as we are here.

This bill essentially leaves any woman who needs an abortion for health reasons--and I stress, for health reasons--after 20 weeks of a pregnancy with no options--none. It punishes doctors with up to 5 years in prison for providing a service that the doctor believes, in his or her professional judgment, in his or her medical opinion, is best for her and her family. Those decisions are what the Constitution protects, what Roe v. Wade guarantees, what the right of privacy preserves in the right to be left alone.

Quite simply, this bill is bad for women, and it criminalizes medical professionals who would try to do what is right. I have a long history in law enforcement, and this sort of ban, which would leave women in completely desperate circumstances with no options is shortsighted, misguided, and illegal. We should not be here talking about proposals that would degrade and disgrace the Constitution, but about job measures, economic growth bills, and measures to solve the immense challenges that confront us in dealing with budget issues. I thank the Senator from Washington State for the great work that she is doing on those issues.

We should be debating the issues that concern and confront the American people at this historic challenging time--not a measure that will be struck down by the courts because it is so plainly unconstitutional and so clearly bad policy--not only for women but for men, families, and for all of us.

We have seen bill after bill in recent times stalled by disagreements over health care. We have seen the Federal Government shut down over health care. Now we see another legislative attempt to win, essentially, political points at the expense of risking the health and welfare of women and children in this country. The attack on women's health care must stop.

We are here in the midst of a busy legislative session to restate the fact that this bill is going nowhere. My colleagues and I will not allow this bill to put women's lives at risk, and to put their health care in jeopardy with politically motivated attempts at destroying constitutionally protected rights. That is why we are elected to this body, to take a stand and speak out, to protect the people who are most vulnerable, and to make sure that women who are at risk can be allowed to make personal private decisions about their health and their bodies without obtrusive interference from the government.

These decisions should be made by women, their families, the medical profession, and whomever else they wish to consult, not by politicians.

I yield the floor for my colleague from California

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