Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) submitted a 1989 letter on abortion from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) into the Senate record. Durbin stated in the letter that he wanted to “end abortion on demand” and overturn Roe v Wade.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Abortion Access and the Law” post-Roe, Lee entered a letter from Durbin — from when he was serving in the House of Representatives — into the record.
The 1989 letter, addressed to a Frank Tureskis, stated:
Thank you very much for taking the time to express your opposition to abortion.
I believe we should end abortion on demand, and at every opportunity I have translated this belief into votes in the House of Representatives. I am opposed to the use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions, and will continue to support amendments to prohibit the funding of elective abortions for federal employees and Medicaid recipients. Also, notwithstanding the result in Webster, I continue to believe the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade should be reversed. [Emphasis added].
Again, thank you for taking the time to share your views with me.
Durbin did not object when Lee asked for unanimous consent to submit the letter into the record.
At the close of the hearing, Durbin responded to Lee by stating that the letter was “not new” and that he had changed his view on abortion since the letter was written. He added that he has run for reelection in the House and Senate since then and believes that this hearing will not be the last time the letter is brought up.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.