Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, the Democrat leader notorious for defending infanticide, signed a law this week that forces taxpayers to subsidize the killing of unborn babies in abortions.
WJHL News 11 reports Northam’s office announced Friday that he had signed the bill and several others into law.
“These new measures will support working Virginians, boost civic engagement, and help us continue building a stronger, more inclusive Commonwealth,” Northam said in a statement.
The pro-abortion law (House Bill 1896/Senate Bill 1276) repeals a ban on elective abortion coverage in the state Affordable Care Act health exchange, which is subsidized by tax dollars. State Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, and Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, sponsored the legislation.
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Virginia Society for Human Life said the legislation is the first step to forcing Virginia taxpayers to pay for abortions.
“Regardless of their view on the legality of abortion, few people support using taxpayer money to pay for them. This is not a pro-life or pro-abortion issue. This is a question of how our taxes may be spent,” said Olivia Gans Turner, president of Virginia Society for Human Life.
The Virginia Catholic Conference also opposes the legislation. Earlier this year, executive director Jeff Caruso told WFXR News that abortions are not health care because “abortion ends a life instead of healing a life.”
Catholic bishops in the state also spoke out against the bill. In a January statement, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond lamented that state lawmakers voted to expand abortions after more than 60 million unborn babies already have been killed.
“Abortion is not health care; it ends lives instead of healing them,” the bishops said. “… when we reflect in particular on the more than 60 million unborn lives lost since the Roe v. Wade decision, and on every day, we continue to advocate with relentless determination for health care that affirms every life, born and unborn.”
Abortion activists claimed the legislation is necessary because poor women may not be able to afford abortions on their own.
But polls consistently show that most Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions. A January poll from Marist found that 58 percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions.