Virginia Delegate Marie March wants lawmakers to take action in January to protect unborn babies from abortion in their state.
Last week, she pre-filed state House Bill 1395 to ensure that Virginia law recognizes human rights begin when life does, at conception, according to the pro-abortion blog Jezebel.
“… life begins at conception and each person is accorded the same rights and protections guaranteed to all persons by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Virginia, and the laws of the Commonwealth beginning at the moment of conception,” the bill summary states.
March’s bill also would repeal state laws that allow unborn babies to be killed in abortions.
Currently, Virginia allows abortions for any reason up to about 26 weeks of pregnancy. Premature babies have survived as early as 21 weeks.
ACTION ALERT: Contact the Virginia legislature to support this bill.
The Virginia Legislature is scheduled to begin its new session Jan. 11, and likely several more pro-life bills will be introduced within the coming months.
In June, Gov. Glenn Youngkin told the Washington Post he would like Virginia to pass a ban on abortion after 15 weeks in 2023. The Republican governor said he asked four lawmakers to write the legislation, which polls consistently show most Americans support.
“Virginians do want fewer abortions as opposed to more abortions,” Youngkin told the newspaper. “I am not someone who is going to jump in and try to push us apart … There is a place we can come together.”
Republicans control the state House of Delegates and Democrats control the state Senate, so it is not clear if either bill has a chance of passing.
More than 16,000 unborn babies are aborted every year in Virginia, according to state government data.
Currently, 13 states are enforcing pro-life laws that ban or strictly limit the killing of unborn babies in abortions, and about nine more are fighting in court to do the same.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a historic victory for life and returned the power to legislate abortion to the people. Because of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, states may protect unborn babies from abortion for the first time in nearly 50 years. New research estimates state pro-life laws have saved as many as 10,000 unborn babies’ lives since June.
ACTION ALERT: Contact the Virginia legislature to support this bill.
