A new bill proposed in Virginia would allow unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth, even up to the point when the mother is in labor.
Sponsored by state Rep. Kathy Tran, state House Bill 2491, or the Repeal Act, is similar to a New York law that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed last week and several others being considered in New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The bill would repeal most abortion restrictions in the state and allow unborn babies to be aborted for any mental or physical health reason, even through the third trimester.
It strikes out language in the current law allowing third-trimester abortions only when the pregnancy “is likely to result in the death of the woman or substantially and irremediably impair the mental or physical health of the woman.” The bill takes out “substantially and irremediably,” thereby allowing abortions for any loosely defined “health” reason.
Additionally, second- and third-trimester abortions would not have to be performed in a hospital, and ultrasounds would not be required as part of a woman’s informed consent. The bill also would repeal a requirement that two physicians certify that a third-trimester abortion is necessary to protect the woman’s life or health.
Earlier this week, a state House subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. A subcommittee voted to table the bill in a 5-3 vote Monday, but the debate over the bill is going viral on social media.
During the hearing, Tran admitted that her bill allows a woman to abort her unborn baby at nine months of pregnancy while in labor, even if there are no physical threats to her health, FaithWire reports.
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“For women seeking reproductive care, the additional costs and obstacles imposed by existing regulation could potentially include unpaid time off from work, hospital fees and other emotional distress,” Tran argued. “These restrictions harm women and have disproportionate effects on low-income women and women of color in Virginia.”
The Virginia Gazette reports Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam and state Attorney General Mark Herring both support the pro-abortion bill.
However, polls indicate the legislation is radically out of touch with most Americans’ views on abortion. According to a national poll conducted by Marist University, three in four Americans (75 percent) say abortion should be limited to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy. This includes most of those who identify as Republicans (92 percent), Independents (78 percent) and a majority of Democrats (60 percent). It also includes more than six in 10 (61 percent) who identify as “pro-choice” on abortion.
A May 2018 Gallup poll found that 53 percent of Americans oppose all or most abortions.
But Democrats who now control several state legislatures are pushing the pro-abortion bills anyway, stirring up fears that the new conservative U.S. Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade and make the killing of unborn babies illegal once again.
ACTION: Contact the Virginia legislature to express your opposition to the bill.
