Back on May 16, we wrote about a real abortion zealot—New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D)–who was “outlining his proposals to add to the state’s ‘Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act’ provisions that were dropped last year in order to get it passed. If that weren’t extremist enough, Murphy also envisions a ‘Reproductive Health Accessibility Fund’ [www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/2022/05/nj-gov-murphy-continues-his-campaign-to-expand-abortion-access-with-free-abortions-up-to-birth-and-new-providers].
But a story today in the New Jersey Monitor indicates the Democrat-controlled legislature is having second thoughts, especially when it involves “late abortion.” The headline is “Governor Murphy faces Democratic roadblocks to passing new abortion measures.”
A change of heart? More likely a cold political calculation:
After legislative losses last November that thinned the Democratic majority in the Legislature to its narrowest in years, Murphy has to wrangle a caucus that is less full-throated on abortion rights than the one he had in the last legislative session, making it more difficult for him to follow through on his pledge to sign a slew of new abortion bills into law
Starting with Senate President Nicholas Scutari “who stands in the way,” according to the New Jersey Monitor. “The Union County Democrat, who controls what bills the Senate votes on, indicated to Politico New Jersey in May he’s happy with the state’s abortion laws as they stand. A group of Democrats in the Assembly who did not support the last abortion access bill could prevent any more expansive measure from securing enough votes for passage.”
The remainder of the story is essentially quotes from Democrats who while pledging their support for Roe v. Wade were unnerved by the Governor’s extreme proposals which cost them in the last election.
“Six Assembly Democrats, all yes votes on the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, lost to Republicans, bringing the total number of Democrats in the Assembly on the record as supporting the bill down to 39, two short of the minimum it would need to pass now.”
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Mercer County Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo was representative of those nervous Democrats. DeAngelo told the New Jersey Monitor
he generally supports a woman’s right to choose and wants Roe v. Wade to stand. The landmark 1973 U.S Supreme Court decision legalized abortion nationwide, and the court is expected to overturn it this year.
But DeAngelo said he doesn’t understand why New Jersey needs to do more than it has already on abortion rights.
“Is this just smoke and mirrors and grandstanding? Are we just trying to make someone else look good or bad, you know? I’d rather just stick to good government.”
Stay tuned. We’ll be regularly updating the situation in New Jersey.
LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.
