2012 Mass. Senate Debate: on Abortion


Elizabeth Warren: No Supreme Court nominees who oppose legal abortion

Warren tried to portray Brown as unreliable on women's issues. Warren said she would not vote to support a U.S. Supreme Court nominee who opposes legal abortion. She criticized Brown for opposing the nomination of Elena Kagan to the court.

Brown described himself as "pro-choice" and said he opposed Kagan because she didn't have enough courtroom experience for the high court. "Sorry I didn't vote for your boss," Brown said, referring to Kagan's tenure as dean of Harvard Law School. Warren pointed to a Brown vote in favor of a proposed amendment that would allow employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control. Brown said he supports women's access to birth control but was trying to protect the concerns of Roman Catholics.

Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate Sep 21, 2012

Scott Brown: I'm pro-choice but anti-Elena Kagan

Warren tried to portray Brown as unreliable on women's issues. Warren said she would not vote to support a U.S. Supreme Court nominee who opposes legal abortion. She criticized Brown for opposing the nomination of Elena Kagan to the court.

Brown described himself as "pro-choice" and said he opposed Kagan because she didn't have enough courtroom experience for the high court. "Sorry I didn't vote for your boss," Brown said, referring to Kagan's tenure as dean of Harvard Law School.

Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate Sep 21, 2012

Scott Brown: Birth control ok, but don't force churches to provide it

Warren pointed to a Brown vote in favor of a proposed amendment that would allow employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control. Brown said he supports women's access to birth control but was trying to protect the concerns of Roman Catholics.
Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate Sep 21, 2012

Scott Brown: I'm a moderate pro-choice Republican & always have been

Warren raised questions about Brown's endorsement by "antichoice groups;" and his cosponsoring of the Blunt Amendment, which would allow health plans and employers to refuse to pay for contraception and other medical services if they have a religious or moral objection.

"You should stop scaring women," Brown retorted. "I've been fighting for women for a long, long time," he said. "Listen, we're both pro-choice. I'm a moderate pro-choice Republican. I always have been."

Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate Sep 20, 2012

  • The above quotations are from 2012 Massachusetts Senate Debate.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Abortion.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Elizabeth Warren on Abortion.
  • Click here for more quotes by Scott Brown on Abortion.
Candidates and political leaders on Abortion:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018