Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero vetoed a pro-life bill Wednesday that would protect unborn babies from abortion once their heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy.
The Guam Heartbeat Act (Bill 291) passed the legislature earlier this month. It would prohibit abortions once the unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, with exceptions for when the mother’s life is at risk. The legislation includes a private enforcement mechanism similar to the Texas Heartbeat Act that allows private individuals to sue abortionists who violate the ban. Mothers could not be sued or punished.
Guerrero, a pro-abortion Democrat, criticized the enforcement provision, claiming it would hurt women and “anyone who helps them” have an abortion, the Pacific Daily News reports. She also claimed killing unborn babies in elective abortions is “health care” — even though tens of thousands of doctors say otherwise.
Responding afterward, Sen. Telena Nelson, the lead sponsor of the bill, said she will ask her fellow lawmakers to override the veto Thursday during the final day of the legislative session, according to the report.
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“We need to make every effort to let the youth know that life is beautiful, that life is precious, that there’s hope in suffering, there’s hope in uncertainty,” Nelson said.
Guam has a unicameral legislature with 15 senators, and at least 10 votes are necessary to override the governor’s veto. The heartbeat bill passed in an 8-7 vote. Although overriding Guerrero’s veto appears unlikely, Nelson said she still wants to try, the report continues.
“Maybe the hearts and minds of some people may change. There’s always a possibility for good to come through the darkness,” she said.
Here’s more from the report:
The outgoing senator said she hopes that, regardless of the outcome, lawmakers will try to pass legislation restricting abortion in the upcoming term. …
Heartbeat Act co-sponsor Sen. Chris Duenas said that fight will continue, though he believes the best avenue forward for abortion opponents is Guam’s 1990 abortion ban, Public Law 20-134, which is currently void and stuck in limbo.
Like U.S. states, Guam and other territories also were affected by Roe v. Wade. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the abortion ruling, territories may pass laws to protect unborn babies’ lives.
Guam does not have any abortion facilities. However, last year, the ACLU filed a lawsuit that could bring abortions back to the island. The Guardian reports the lawsuit challenges two Guam abortion regulations that require abortions to be done in a medical facility or hospital and a doctor to meet with the patient in person for an informed consent consultation at least 24 hours before the abortion.
Recent polls show public support for greater legal protections for unborn babies, such as heartbeat laws and bans on abortion after the first trimester.
