Rep. Jackie Speier of San Mateo spoke on the House floor last night about an abortion she had, in response to comments by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey. The exchange came during a debate on eliminating federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which passed 240-185.
According to Politico, “Speier spoke out after Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey read at length from a book written by a former abortion provider, now an anti-abortion activist, who described in great detail how a second-trimester abortion looks on an ultrasound.”
Speier’s remarks started with the following:
“I really planned to speak about something else but the gentleman from New Jersey just put my stomach in knots because I’m one of those women he spoke about just now. I had a procedure at 17 weeks pregnant with a child who moved from the vagina into the cervix. And that procedure that you just described is a procedure that I endured. I lost the baby. And for you to stand on this floor and suggest that somehow this is a procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly or done without any thought, is preposterous.”
Video below: