Witness calls out Sen. Kennedy in abortion hearing: ‘Nothing but fearmongering’

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) gave a graphic description of an abortion procedure during a Senate hearing Wednesday, leading one witness to say his statements did not reflect her experience and were “nothing but fearmongering.”

Kennedy pushed back on the theme of the Senate Committee on the Budget hearing, with Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) saying in his opening statement that “reproductive justice” would lead to “economic justice.” 

Kennedy said that an aborted fetus would not receive any sort of justice, and would instead be put in a significant amount of pain. He pointed to an illustration of a 21-week-old fetus and described in detail a dilation and evacuation procedure.

He said doctors use “a pair of pliers with sharp teeth on the end” and “start tearing the baby apart.” 

He was eventually cut off by Whitehouse, who said Kennedy had reached his allowed time limit. Kennedy told Whitehouse he was sorry he didn’t “want to hear what happens in an actual abortion.” 

Allie Phillips, a mother and activist who had to travel to New York to have an abortion, fired back at Kennedy for his comments. 

“Senator Kennedy came to this hearing knowing that there was going to be a mother here who had to make the difficult decision to terminate a 20-week pregnancy, and he decided it was in his best interest to show a 21-week fetus,” Phillips said. “And his testimony was nothing but fearmongering.”

Phillips told the committee she learned she was pregnant in the Fall of 2022, but later found out her daughter had multiple severe conditions, including a lack of amniotic fluid, nonfunctioning organs and a brain condition.

Phillips lives in Tennessee, where abortion is banned, and said she had to decide between terminating the pregnancy or continuing it risking her life. She decided to travel to New York City, where she had an abortion at 20 weeks.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who spoke after Kennedy, reprimanded him and apologized to Phillips. 

“Mrs. Phillips, I’m so sorry you just had to hear that and particularly as you’re talking about the one year anniversary of what you had to go through,” Stabenow said. “It was shameful, and I’m very, very sorry. No one here should be judging you or any other woman who has to make decisions based on their life and what’s happening in their pregnancy.”

Phillips said she hopes her story will encourage legislators to pass a law that allows unrestricted access to abortion. 

“I would like to ask the committee to remember my story,” she said. “To remember that I’m one of thousands, if not millions, of people in this country that need or needed abortion access, and to remember that it’s not black and white and one size does not fit all. We can’t be putting politics into health care decisions.”