Virginia Measure Would Ban Abortions if Roe v. Wade is Overturned 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 10, 2007
Richmond, VA (LifeNews.com) — A measure proposed in the Virginia legislature would ban abortions if the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade is ever overturned. The legislation, known as a trigger law, is similar to those in other states that are hoping the landmark decision will someday be reversed.
Del. Robert G. Marshall, a longtime Republican pro-life leader in the state legislature, is the key sponsor of the bill.
The Virginia General Assembly starts its next legislative session today and a hearing on the bill is already pending.
According to a Potomac News report, the bill would reinstate Virginia’s 1970 law prohibiting abortions and abortion practitioners could serve as much as 10 years in jail for doing them. The measure also making advertising abortions in the state a misdemeanor.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia issued a statement opposed the bill, the newspaper reported.
"That is not what Virginians want and if people really want to do something to make a difference, they need to support prevention and make sure couples have access to family planning services," said Mira Signer, state director of the pro-abortion group.
Legislators in Oklahoma and Utah are putting forward similar trigger laws this legislative session and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signed a trigger law there last June.
Dorinda Bordlee, a long-time pro-life attorney in Louisiana and vice president of the Bioethics Defense Fund, told LifeNews.com other states should follow Louisiana’s lead.
"Our approach to include a post-Roe activation clause, sometimes called a trigger clause, enabled the legislators to speak their hearts without abortion industry lawyer’s breathing down their backs," Bordlee explained.
"It allowed post-abortive women to educate the legislators about how abortion negatively impacted their lives in profound ways," Bordlee added. "Other states that choose to follow Louisiana’s lead will help build a consensus to reverse Roe."
Related web sites:
Bioethics Defense Fund – https://www.BDFund.org
