No. 2 Democrat Senator Explains Why He Changed His Mind on Abortion

During a heated July 12 exchange in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) explained his reasoning for changing his mind on abortion after once calling for Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

Tuesday’s hearing focused on the potential legal repercussions of the Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which SCOTUS decided to overturn the abortion standard defined by Roe v. Wade.

Under that standard, states were prohibited from restricting abortion before the so-called “viability line”—a term that describes an infant’s ability to live outside of his or her mother’s womb. However, even top biologists in favor of abortion have long disagreed on how to define the “viability line.”

With the SCOTUS decision in Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, the power to regulate abortion has been returned to the states—a decision that Democrats have said will have dire consequences for women.

During the hearing, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) noted that Durbin, like many other Democrats, changed his mind on abortion over the past few decades.

To demonstrate Durbin’s change of heart, Lee submitted to the record a copy of a letter that Durbin wrote in 1989 while still a member of the House of Representatives expressing his opposition to the practice and calling for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“I believe we should end abortion on demand and at every opportunity I have translated this belief into votes in the House of Representatives,” Durbin wrote in that letter. “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,” Durbin added, “I continue to believe the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade should be reversed.”

In a recent statement indicative of his change of

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