securing roe's extinction but sooner or later the truth wins out. without the actions they have taken four years reproductive rights wouldn't be staring straight into adoomsday scenario . so tomorrow the vote to protect abortion rights will shine like a flood light on every member of this chamber. republicans who pretend to disingenuously as if this moment couldn't possibly happen will have to answer to the women of america whose rights are about to be turned back by decades. tomorrow, there will be no more hiding. there will be no more distractions, no more obfuscating for every member in thischamber stands . senate republicans will face a choice. either vote to protect the rights of women to exercise freedom over their own bodies or stand with the supreme court as 50 years of women's rights are reduced to rubble before our very eyes.

the vote tomorrow will tell. >> mister president my older daughter abigail names for abigail adams who urged her husband to remember the ladies is generous, silly and so smart. she calls herself a maker kid . and dreams of being an engineer or an army nurse. but definitely not a hot doctor pilot. my younger daughter miley just turned four. her lab is contagious and early on during the pandemic when i was mostly working from home she proved she was truly her mother's daughter is starting to pull prints including grabbing my phone and hanging up on whoever was on the other line when i was trying to conduct a zoom meeting or review some legislation instead of playing with her . but abigail and miley might re not be here today if it weren't for the basic reproductive rights americans have relied on for nearly 50 years .

when roe was decided in 1973 it changed the lives of so many women. it's saved the lives of 14-year-olds who were the victims of rape or incest otherwise would have had to turn to back alleys and back rooms. it changed the lives of women who wanted to be moms but found out their pregnancies worked bible. they have to go through the pain and suffering of a trauma of a full-term only to stillborn at the end of nine months. andpersonally for me , it gave me my chance to be a mom . for i never would have had my creative silly drive me crazy let's get love them infinitely two daughters if rohan paves the way for women to make their own health care decisions as i was only able to get pregnant through ivf. a fertility process that roe lays the foundation for. because of ivf i got to experience all the joys of motherhood because reproductive rights my husband and i are just tammy

and brian, we are mommy and daddy . because of roe and the rights protects we are a family . we are a yet last week we learned that the supreme court could be just weeks away from overturning roe versus wade and planned parenthood versus casey a decision it made five vinyl which would strip away rights for millions of women forcing them to be to potentially live through the horrors and indignities their grandmothers for if they needed reproductive care. this would just be the start. for while the antitrust movement has been working for years, decades to get to this moment overturning roe is not their end goal. they want a national ban on ng , something the republican senate leader said was a possibility just last week. they want to undermine access to contraception and in some states legislation has already been introduced make ivf a crime. in oklahoma one woman was evenconvicted of manslaughter forhaving a miscarriage .

a miscarriage . criminalized for having a miscarriage. i've had a miscarriage and there are no words to describe what mothers feel in that moment. for me i was overcome with the rost most painful emotion i've ever experienced. in that moment, losing my baby felt more searing than anything i've ever felt in my entire life. yet if the gop had its way, women may now live have to live in fear that that worst moments of theirlives may also send them to prison . and if extremists get what they're seeking doctors who perform procedures such as dilation and coverage to help grieving families who lost a pregnancy might be at risk of going to jail too. doctors like the one who after my own miscarriage conducted the bnc to clear out my uterus that allowed me to immediately continue my

dream of having a baby fire ivf i desperately wished for asecond child, my beautiful rainbow baby . let's be honest. what's prhappening is not about protecting life. it's an anti-choice movement truly wanted to protect life and stop trying to strip away americans healthcare. maybe putting all their efforts into addressing the growing maternal mortality prices that's taken a tragic number of black mothers lives . they would be pushing for desperately needed policies that support parents like affordable childcare and paid parental leave . if republicans actually cared about being pro-life, they'd do something, anything to stand up to thenational rifle association . but no, this isn't about saving lives. this isn't laabout looking up for families c. it's about getting a slap on the back from their base and exerting more control over women's bodies. it's about deepening divides between the haves and

have-nots. it's about making it even harderto undo centuries of harm unleashed by systemic racism heand economic injustice , systems under which women ofcolor have suffered the most . look, i know a lot of us are tired from the seemingly endless fight to protect our most basic human rights we can do more. we have to do more. we must. congress itself has the power. we have the ability to vote tomorrow to pass the women's health protection act which would codify roe v. wade once and for all because let me be clear. women seeking care should not be ashamed. nthe people who should feel ashamed are those forcing these women to live through unnecessary pain and suffering. the people who should feel shame are those who claim to be pro-life yet would let my mother died in childbirth for an unviable pregnancy, who believe guns should beeasy to

get with basic healthcare . these are the people who should be shamed. these are the people who have no shame and i'd be damned if i let my daughters grow up in a country that gives them fewer rights than their moms have so here i am today running for tomorrow but tomorrow that doesn't look like our yesterday because in that yesterday those of us with uteruses were treated as second-class citizens and i haven't learned to fly blackhawk helicopters, go to war for this nation, fighting for the rights enshrined in the constitution only to come back home and have the same rights away from the next generationof girls who simply want to be able to follow their own dreams like i did mine . to me it comes down to this. women should be allowed to make their health care decisions without mister mcconnell's voice or brett

kavanaugh space hunting them. shame on those who want to take us back to the pre-áuntran6á back alleys . shame on those who don't regulate guns but want to regulate our uteruses. i'll fight with everything i have to keep us out of athose back alleys because it's the least the women who came before us deserve. and it is the least our own daughters need. so enough with the hypocrisy. enough with the misogyny. enough that some men in a hollowed halls in dc claiming they know better than women in arizona and missouri. we can and must do better. that means proving that we care about women every day of the year, not just one sunday in may. that means codifying roe now. let's vote. >> mister president senator from texas. >> over the last several days the radical left has taken the debate about abortion to dangerous ends. last week the liberal group

launched an intimidation campaign against sex members of the supreme court. they've posted a map online with their home addresses and encouraged protesters to take their complaints straight to the justices doorsteps . no surprise, the swarms of protesters heated their call. they showed up at some of the justices homes this weekend. even though this plan was in the works for several days, the white house remained silent and refused to condemn this clear-cut example of doxxing. it wasn't until this weekend when protests had concluded the white housepress secretary said justices should be able to do their jobs without fearing for their personal safety or the safety of their families .

and that wasn't the only alarming update from the weekend . i'll pro-life group in wisconsin was vandalized and set on fire onsunday morning . the person or persons responsible smashed windows and attempted to use a molotov cocktail . they left graffiti on the exterior wall of the building that read if abortions aren't safe, then you are either. threats of violence are never acceptable. it doesn't matter who's making the threat or who is on the receivingend . there's a world of difference between legitimate public discourse protected under the first amendment to the united states constitution and threats or acts of violence which are not. every single person in this chamber especially our on democratic colleagues should affirm that any demonstrations about this heated issue cannot threaten the safety of anyone. supreme court justices,

pro-life advocates or otherwise. this past weekend events have highlighted the need to better protect the justices and their families. they deserve the protection that at this moment the supreme court police are not able to provide. last week senator coons, the senator from delaware and i introduced a bill to increase protection for all nine justices and their families. this basically would be the same sort of authority is given to the capital mbpolice in protecting members of congress. the evidence of this weekend have underscored justhow important this is . this legislation was at the request of the chief justice who wants to ensure members of the court and their families have the security and protection they need especially at this tense time when justices are facing enhanced threats .

we currently have two justices with school-age children and in the coming months that number will increase to three akonce judge jackson takes her place on the supreme courtbench . i'm glad this bill passed the senate last night and i love our colleagues in the house will take it up and pass itin the coming days . this week the issue at the center of this turmoilwill be a topic of debate. in the united states senate . the democratic leader has promised the senate will vote on a radical abortion bill that goes far , far beyond codifying roe v. wade. this radical pro-abortion bill senator schumer has set for a vote on tomorrow allows e for abortions at any point during a woman's pregnancy . up until the time of delivery .

it does this by prohibiting states from protecting an unborn child's right to life as long as one healthcare provider signs off that pregnancy would pose a risk to the woman's physical or mental health . it isn't hard to see this is a blank check for abortion providers like emmett does now. you may remember that he was a physician in philadelphia pennsylvania who ran something called the woman's medical society clinic but which was dubbed a house of horrors during his subsequent trial. he was also a prolific prescriber of oxycontin. but in 2011 doctor gosnell and his wife pearl and eight employees were charged with 32 felonies and 227 misdemeanors in connection

with the deaths, illegal medical services and regulatory violations at his abortion clinic. pearl and the eight employees pled guilty to various charges in 2011 while doctor does now pled not guilty and sought ajury trial. after that trial , doctor does know was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three infants and involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of an adult patient at theclinic following an abortion procedure . gosnell was also convicted of 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortions and 2011 counts of violating 2 pennsylvania's 24 hour informed consent law. after his conviction gosnell waived his right to appeal in exchange for an agreement from prosecutors not to seek

the death penalty . he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. not only does the radical abortion bill that senator schumer has teed up a vote on tomorrow usurp the constitutional role reserved to the states, it would allow a child born after 21 weeks of just devastation to be aborted. next month a baby who was born at 41 weeks and two days willcelebrate his second birthday. but this extreme legislation would invalidate all state laws that limit abortions after 20 weeks of just asian . this wouldn't just impact pro-life red states. this change is so radical it would invalidate existingl.laws in blue states as well .in

massachusetts and nevada for example abortions are restricted after 24 weeks . in california, washington and illinoisabortions are restricted after viability . but this legislation were to become law those laws would be preempted under the supremacy clause ofthe federal constitution . now, this sort of radical lurch and knee-jerk reaction to a draft opinion illegally leaked by somebody at the supreme court, this reaction is way out of step with the views of most americans when it comes to the sensitive and emotional issueof abortion . a poll last summer found 60 percent of americans believe abortion should be illegal in the second trimester . opposition to third trimester abortion is even stronger and overwhelming 80 percent of

americans are opposed to late third trimester term abortions . but under this legislation, states would have no power to stop the radical procedure known as partial-birth abortions. as long as one provider signed off that the mother's mental health might be affected. but that is not defined and is left to theimagination . but just when you think it's bad , it gets worse. this bill would also invalidate lawsthat prevent abortion from being used as a method of sex selection . in other words this legislation allows a parent who's hoping for a son to abort a baby girl. this is a type of practice that sadly became common in china during the era of the one child policy.

it's not something thatshould happen in america . not only that, this bill undermines the efforts to protect unbornbabies with disabilities like down syndrome . unborn children being killed based solely on gender or disabilities is a devastating problem in other countries. we cannot allow such grotesque practices to become mainstream here in america. america is better thanthat . this bill that the majority leader has teed up a vote on tomorrow would also invalidate conscience laws which protect avelf care providers who have deeply held objections to abortion. conscience laws are extremely common in 46 states allow individual healthcare providers to refuse to provide abortion services. this law that will we will be voting on tomorrow would wipe

away all of thoseexisting state laws . any health care provider who ed had a deeply held religious or moral objection to abortion would be required by federal law to provide them anyway. any health care provider who refused to do so could find themselves on the receiving end of a lawsuit . this radical pro-abortion legislation removes a range of commonsense protections exist in states across the country. it does away with state laws that limit the performance of abortions to licensed physicians meeting nonphysicians could perform and prescribe abortions. and it provides no protection for babies who survive a botched abortion. it invalidates informed consent laws which require

information about the baby with the mother such as whether the child is capable of feeling pain and it gives the attorneygeneral of the united states to an authority to block state laws protecting the right to life . this legislation would overturn existing laws and allow abortions on a scale our country has never seen before . it's a sad commentary that the conscience of american, on the conscience of america when all but a handful of our democratic colleagues are fighting toimplement these radical policies . as it stands today the united states is only one of a handful of countries that allow selective abortions after 20 weeks . other countries on that list of seven include the people's republic of china ruled by the chinese communist party and northkorea . this should be a massive red flag for our colleagues across the aisle that our compassion for the unborn ranks right up there with the

peoples republic of china and north korea but unfortunately , they don't see the inherent humanity of these lost innocent lives. the extent to which the democratic party continues to embrace such radical policies never ceases to amaze me . as shocking as this legislation is it's not entirely new. it already failed to pass the senate once this year. it couldn't even earn the support of all 50 democratic senators. itfailed on a 46 to 48 line vote . democrats haven't made any changes that will move the im needle in their direction in this bill that we will vote on tomorrow . i simply do not agree that the american people want abortion laws in our country that puts us on par with the chinese communist party and north korea, two of the

world's most aggressive human rightsabusers . america cannot be it's best if we do not valuethe lives of our most vulnerable . i believe babies, fellow human beings with heartbeats, fingerprints tjust like the rest of us deserve to have protection under the law. under state laws that would if in the event role were overturned be the ultimate arbiter ofwhat the laws would be in those individual states . the declaration of independence itself guarantees the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness . and i believe that right to life extends to the unborn. just as it does to every other american. i've always believed in defending othe rights of the unborn to life, liberty and

the pursuit of happiness and i'll continueto fight this bill no matter how many times a majority leader brings it to the floor . >> mister president, i yield the floor. >> mister president. >> majority whip. >> mister president, last week pamericans woke up to the news that was perhaps not unexpected but still stunning. it appears in a ematter of weeks we may soon live in a country where women have fewer constitutional rights than their parents or grandparents. in one bold move, the ultraconservative activist majority on the supreme court appears poised to erase the constitutional right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term. i want to be clear. the leak of the majority draft opinion in dodd versus

jackson women's health organization is an unprecedented breach of the court's confidential deliberations. it may harm the trust that justice is having one another as well as the public's trust in the court. still, one must wonder why is it that our republican colleagues have been focused so exclusively on the leak of dr the draft opinion rather than the substance of the opinion itself and why do we here in the last few days a continued reference to the security of supreme court justices without a real discussion of where the proposed opinion will take us? let's make it clear, unequivocally clear in a bipartisan fashion. violence is never acceptable. violence is never acceptable

against supreme court justices, their families, their staff or anyone associated with that branch of government nor is violence acceptable on january 6 2021 in this chamber when the insurrection is mom wleaving a trumpet rally came here and tried to stop the business of the united states senate and house of representatives and we left as fast as we could move out the back door to try toescape that . that was violence which led to five deaths and the results of 150 iomembers of law enforcement. that violence is unacceptable as well and i will my friends on the other side of the aisle who vetoed an effort for a bipartisan commission to investigate the violence of january 6 willstep up now and say they were wrong . violence against the supreme court justice, violence against the senate,none of those are acceptable . unequivocally, period. i'm in favor of protectingthe justices of course . i've been party to efforts in

my home state of illinois after a tragic incident over 10 years ago when a disgruntled client ended up killing a federal judges mother and husband in their home. since then i've called for more security and i'm glad to add my name to this effortnow to provide security to this court and all the members of the court. their families and staff who areinvolved . it is unacceptable violence either in this building across the street is unacceptable . but i'd like to speak as well to the substance of the statement just made by the senator from texas . herecalled the case of ms-dos nail , a case where a doctor in philadelphia was convicted virtually of infanticide. repeated cases of infanticide

and he was sentenced ultimately to life in prison where he still spends his time serving thatout with no chance of parole nor should he ever have a chance at parole . i struggled to get the connection between the crime of infanticide and the debate we're having because there's nothing in the bill coming to the floor by the democrats which is a change that basic funding in the case in pennsylvania. that doctor now removed from from his profession was guilty of a crime and the bill before us in the floor of the senate will not onchange that reality at all. i don't know if that was the inference but i took it to mean that i was wrong. we need to acknowledge the basics that a critical constitutional right may be removed by the supreme court. i'm an amateur historian studying the history of this country and i can't think of another time when a

constitutionally guaranteed rights by supreme court opinion with over 50 years has been removed by the court . that's what we face now. on the right of americans to make the most basic decisions about their health, their lives and their future. sadly many republicans are desperately trying to deflect from this ruling and what it means for every single american. if the legal reason in the courts draft opinion becomes final that decision in dobbs will and a half century guarantee of the right to abortion isprotected under the constitution . republicans no overturning roe v. wade, a any eliminating access for women's healthcare is extremely unpopular. when asked whether we should do itonly 28 percent of americans say they agree . in a world without roe

americans would not only be denied health services, it's possible some will be prosecuted . the far right lawmakers have been feverishly anticipating this moment. over the past week some of these same officials have introduced legislation around the country designed to punish women for making the b basic decisions about reproductive health . the legislators in louisiana introduced a bill to allow prosecutors to bring mortar charges against a woman who undergoes or anyone who provides an abortion. the same louisiana bill would seemingly call into question the lovely at legality of in vitro fertilization as well as iuds, the morning-after pill and other forms of emergency contraception. i'm glad i was on the floor a few minutes ago. mycolleague senator duckworth talked about her two little d girls . i remember those kids . from the earliest times when i was in the car driving in

the state of illinois to an event in bloomington. the phone rang and it was tammy duckworth. she was my colleague in the senate wand she was going to be my colleague in the united states senate. she was a member of the house of representatives and told meshe was going to have a baby i couldn't believe it . tammy and i have known one another since a few weeks after her fatal crash or i should say terrible crash out of a helicopter in iraq. i have known what she had gone through. surgeries and recovery and i was the one who encouraged her to run for office and i'm sure glad she did. she has become the voice of the military, the voice of veterans fand one of the most powerful voices in the step senate and when she told the story about those two little girls born through the process of in vitro fertilization i was fortunate enough as a grandfather to

have two in vitro grandbabies. i love them to pieces and i'm grateful there was a science achievement available to help my daughter delivered those beautiful kids. the republican lawmaker in idaho said he's open to banning certain forms of birthcontrol if this decision goes forward in the supreme court . he wanted to include plan b emergency contraception. think about that. state-by-state, legislator by legislator will decide what's acceptable when it comes to contraception . now some people will think durden, you're exaggerating. democrats are at it again exaggerating what i'm old enough to remember before griswold the regulation of contraception in those days when it was virtually in many states even illegal to buy a condom . so you think i'm

exaggerating? we lived at that time. it wasn't griswold versus connecticut decided by the supreme court established a right of privacy under our constitution which led to roe v. wade. that was in america which sadly many republican lawmakers long for a lawmaker in missouri released a bill that deputize his bounty hunters to sue anyone who helps a woman taking an abortion outside the state of missouri. i want to remind my colleague from texas that the texas bounty hunters law that started this conversation in earnest and in texas they decided there would be a civil penalty that could be charged against those who were engaged in an abortion and a person could claim that penalty if they disclosed it to the public. just a few days ago incidentally the republican leader senator mcconnell of q kentucky set a national banon abortions could be quotes, possible . a national ban if roe is overturned and republicans

take control of the senate. leading up to the state to decide a woman's reproductive rights is a great patchwork of uncertainty. your constitutional rights would depend on your zip code but that is exactly the to future we're facing. to be sure state legislators will continue to protect access to abortion unless of course republicans in congress and act the national ban editor mcconnell said was possible. in the absence if you can afford to travel you'll be able to access reproductive care in states like illinois and connecticut but what about anyone else? if the right to an abortion yields on how much money you make billions of women, many from historically marginalized communities will face even greater hurdles than obtaining an abortion. america already has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the developed world.

drastically restricting access to abortion or banning abortion altogether will make those rates worse . republicans and antitrust activists are ttrying to minimize the impact that every single would have. they talk about other times of the supreme court overturned precedent and argue disingenuously i think that this is how the course has always worked. edit corrects its own past mistakes. they claim overturning roe is no different than overturning plessy versus ferguson which gave us the affection of separate but equal and was lateroverturned brown versus board of education . but there is a profound difference. it appears never before in the history of america has the supreme court decision abandoned settled law that made americans. never. in the past when the court has taken the serious step of overturningthe law it's done so to expand freedom, expand opportunity , not eliminateit

. with the activist antitrust majority on this would do is unprecedented, radical and dangerous. here's another fact republican lawmakers are hoping you won't notice. it's not just the right to abortion that's in jeopardy. justice alito's draft opinion questions right to privacy. it argues that enumerated rights that is reached not explicitly in theconstitution , unenumerated rights must be deeply rooted in us history and tradition in order to be recognized as a constitutional right r. who decides what is deeply rooted in history and e tradition? the courts over gravelle versus hodges decision established marriage equality seven years ago. will the court reactionary majority but that next on the chopping block? what about the right to contraception? established by griswold versus connecticut 11 years before roe.

republican member recently criticized that decision establishing the privacy rights of other individuals to choose the contraception's right for their family. he described this as quote constitutionally unsound rather than settling the debate on abortion the draft.opinion would divide our fractious nation, set the stage for a radical s.majority in the court toerase even more taconstitutional rights . it would gain government power to dictate your rights and dictate your future. that's why we must take action to produce, to protect women's protective rights. tomorrow the senate will vote on women's health protection act. this bill will codify the right to provide or obtain an abortion freefrom medically unnecessary restrictions . 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

established for over 50 years . 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. republicans are willing to force women to carry unexpectedly dangerous pregnancies to termbut they're not willing to help them raise their children . we make it clear that when it comes to helping families which basics such as tax credits for children, making sure families have paid medical leave for their newborns or other family members all of these things are family-friendly and family values. unfortunately they're not supported by many if any republicans. that would be a demonstration they truly care for families. mister president, i yield the floor. >> the senate now in recess for their weekly party caucus

lunches where the ukrainian ambassador will be speaking to senate democrats and republicans on russia's ongoing invasion of our country and president biden's ukraine request. senators return 2:15 eastern to confirm a new science director and lisa cook confirmed would become the first black woman on the federal reserve board. the senate will vote on whether to begin debate on the bill to protect a woman's right tohave an abortion and turn it into federal law. 60 votes will be needed . live coverage here on c-span2. >> the senate foreign relations committee will take up several nominations today. president biden specs to be us ambassador to ukraine will take questions from committee members. the counterterrorism coordinator nominee for the state department will also testify live at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3, online at c-span.org or watch full coverage on c-span now, our free video app .

>> c-span has unfiltered coverage of the response to russia's invasion of ukraine bringing you the latest from the president and other white house officials, pentagon and state department as well as congress . we also have international perspectives from the united nations and statements from foreign leaders on the c-span network. >> .. the co-author of "this will not pass: trump, biden and the battle for american democracy." also joined by alexander burns,, also co-author of the same book, both work for the times.th thanks for giving us your time today. i suppose you initially had a goal to start the book and ended up with a different kind of product when you f