WATCH: Elizabeth Warren Confronts Kansas Senator Over ‘Despicable’ Anti-Abortion ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ on Senate Floor

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren confronted Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall over what she called “truly despicable” anti-abortion “Crisis Pregnancy Centers.”

On Thursday, Sen. Warren gave a floor speech in support of the so-called “Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act” or the “SAD Act.” in which she blasted Crisis Pregnancy Centers at length — as she has done consistently.

Following that speech, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey engaged Marshall on the question of whether CPCs should be permitted to “promote fraud,” which led to a throwdown in which Warren and Menendez tag-teamed Marshall:

Senator Menendez: While my colleague is still here, I would like to propose the question to my colleague through the chair. Does the first amendment allow you to promote fraud? Does the first amendment allow you to promote deception? Is it great work to lie to someone about what you are providing them? Is it great work to allow someone to get your vital health information, believing that you are a health provider and then being able to use that private information?

Senator Marshall: To answer my colleague, the fraud and the deception is occurring in the abortion clinics. I can tell you story after story of patients crying in my office who went to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test and were scheduled for an abortion, coming to my office wondering, do I have to do this abortion? That’s where the fraud and deception is occurring. These women aren’t being told about the potential complications of these abortion procedures. They’re not being told that these abortion pills are going to cause pain and cramping and bleeding, that they could end up in the emergency room as well. They’re not told about the complications from the abortion procedures. That’s where the fraud and deception is present. You talk about this as reproductive services. You’re afraid to say the word abortion in these clinics. That’s the fraud and deception. This isn’t reproductive services. These are abortions. This is taking the life of the unborn. Thank you, Mr. President.

Senator Warren: Actually could I? Can I ask you a question then because I am a little confused, I think, by what’s just happened here. I presume deception is wrong, whoever does it. So if we just said, no deception around pregnancy services, would you be willing to support this?

Senator Marshall: Mr. President, we could never support any part of this legislation. I think the deception and fraud is occurring on the part of abortion clinics. This is a threat to our first amendment rights, and I think, like I said in my opening remarks, this is just simply unacceptable. That’s why we continue to object. Thank you.

Senator Menendez: Mr. President, if I may ask my colleague through the chair, is it right, no matter who gets the information by fraud, to give your most private health – surely as a doctor – the Senator would say that no one should give up their health information to an entity that does not preserve it under HIPAA laws. So could the Senator not join us if we limit it to fraud that ultimately has that fraud create the insecurity of HIPAA information?

Senator Marshall: Mr. President, I think this is not the place to try to rewrite legislation. Of course I’m against all fraud. I think all fraud is bad. I think that I’m all for the truth, all for protecting patients’ personal information. But I’m also here proud to say what great work that these clinics do. I’m not sure what you are even accusing them is even true. I have not witnessed that. The pregnant clinics that I have seen do great work for these folks. They truly do sit down and talk with them. They give them a hand up. They do so many great things.

I don’t know where this fraud and deception is coming about except that they’re talking to women and saying, do you realize that your baby has a heartbeat? Do you realize that your baby can feel pain at 14 weeks? Do you realize that your baby recognizes the voice of your husband right now? Do you recognize – so I think those are great things to share with patients, how wonderful life is, that we’re all wonderfully, beautifully made in the womb, that life begins at conception. I think that’s all the truth that should be shared with them. So, no, I don’t think there’s anything you could do with this legislation that could change it that I could support. And I continue to object. Thank you, and I yield.

Senator Warren: Mr. President, then could I ask through you another question and that is, if we’re not talking about the fraud part, can we at least talk about collecting health information, that any so-called crisis pregnancy center – I’m sorry, is the Senator leaving? The one who said that it’s important to protect private health care information? That at least we could agree that private health care information – I guess the Senator is just going to walk off the floor. So the question would have been, how about agreeing that anyone that collects information about a pregnancy and collects medical and personal information has to be bound by HIPAA so that that information is fully protected? That would be my question, Mr. President. But since there’s no one here to answer it on the Republican side, I guess we will have to leave it for today. Thank you.

Senator Menendez: I would like to answer the Senator’s question. That makes eminent sense that we would protect HIPAA information regardless of who is in a position to maybe have access to collecting it. And therefore, in the first instance, you shouldn’t collect it if you’re not a medical entity, but if you do, you should be ultimately bound by the same guarantees that anyone else would be guaranteed. You know, it would baffle me that particularly a medical professional, a doctor, would suggest that HIPAA information is something that we shouldn’t protect. I think that at a minimum we should all be able to agree to that.

Senator Warren: This is a reminder again why I am so honored to fight alongside Senator Menendez. I don’t think anyone should be deceived, and particularly a woman who is seeking information about termination of a pregnancy, and I don’t believe anyone’s private medical information should be shared. The idea that these crisis pregnancy centers gather information from women who believe they are giving it to a medical provider, and that information will be protected, and that that is not the case, is truly despicable. Thank you again, Senator Menendez. Thank you, Mr. President.

Watch above via C-Span.

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