As Dick Durbin Condemns Abortion Restrictions In Senate Hearing, Cruz, Lee Expose His 1989 Call To End ‘Abortion On Demand’

During a Tuesday Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the recent Supreme Court abortion decision, top Republicans highlighted just how radically far Democratic politicians have gone in their abortion stances.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah both pointed to a 1989 letter from Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin in which the then-congressman said: “I believe we should end abortion on demand, and at every opportunity I have translated this belief into votes in the House of Representatives.”

Both Cruz and Lee pointed out that Durbin now apparently supports unfettered and unlimited abortions.

“That was a view of a lot of Democrats not that long ago,” Cruz said, referring to Durbin’s past comments on abortion. “But today’s Democratic Party is afraid of the voters on this issue.”

Durbin, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, circled back to Cruz and Lee’s comments as he closed the hearing.

The senator said that he had changed his mind on abortion after he spoke with two young women who were victims of rape and incest.

According to a widely cited 2004 study from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, only about 1% of women said they obtained abortions because they were victims of rape. Less than half a percent said they became pregnant as a result of incest, the institute said.

“I left that meeting with an understanding that I never had before, about the complexity of the decision behind the abortion procedure many times,” Durbin said.

“I thought to myself, as an individual member of Congress, are you ready to pass a law that applies to every woman in America?” he asked. “No. It really has to be her decision. And we can regulate it as we should. But at that point I made my break. I stood for election in the House and the Senate many times since then. I have seen these letters before. I will surely see them again. I thank you for being here.”

Durbin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.

Every American deserves to make their own decisions about when and how to start their family. But Republicans have decided they would rather put that control in the hands of politicians.

Today’s hearing is the first of many steps Democrats will take to fight back. https://t.co/bApcbNXfJ0

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) July 12, 2022

The Republicans also pointed out that President Joe Biden’s abortion stances have radically evolved.

Biden formerly referenced his Catholic faith as a reason for his pro-life votes in the Senate earlier in his career, but he changed his stance on the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funding for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is in danger, on the campaign trail in 2019.

WATCH: Sen. Ted Cruz details Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and Dick Durbin’s past comments where they were opposed to abortion and critical of Roe.

Cruz brought receipts and floor charts! pic.twitter.com/BOxWn5P7P4

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 12, 2022

Biden now heads the most pro-abortion administration in United States history, in which radical legislation, like the Equality Act and the Women’s Health Protection Act, is championed.

The Biden administration has not said that there should be any limits on abortion at any point during a pregnancy, and Biden’s continued support for abortion has prompted strong condemnation from Catholic leaders like Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.

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