Henderson, Nevada (WNews) – Harry Reid, the former Democratic Senate leader who spearheaded legislative battles through three decades in Congress, has died at the age of 82, according to a statement from his wife, Landra Reid.
“He was my leader, my mentor, one of my dearest friends,” – Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
Reid believed that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned, and in 1999, voted against an amendment that supported Roe. He stated that he believed in a restricted right to abortion, stating that “abortions should be legal only when the pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered.” He voted several times to ban the intact dilation and evacuation, or “partial-birth abortion” procedure. Reid supported embryonic stem cell research.
Regarding same-sex marriage, Reid initially believed that “marriage should be between a man and a woman”, but abandoned that position in favour of same-sex marriage in 2012.
On May 14, 2018, Reid had surgery for pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins Cancer Center after a tumour was found on his pancreas during a routine screening. In a January 2019 interview with The New York Times, it was revealed that Reid was confined to a desk at his home and was unable to move without the aid of a walker.
Upon his diagnosis, Reid said: “As soon as you discover you have something on your pancreas, you’re dead”. On February 25, 2019, Reid announced that due to early detection and chemotherapy, his cancer was in remission.
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