Penna Dexter

During the past decade or so, pro-life state legislators have been passing laws placing commonsense, often very modest, restrictions on abortion. It’s sad to see a lot of this progress wiped out when a different party comes into power. This is happening right now in the state of Virginia. The new democratic majority in Virginia’s house and senate is working to pass a package of bills that will reverse these protective laws. One bill removes Virginia’s requirement that abortions be performed by doctors. Nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, and certified nurse midwives will soon be allowed to abort babies. There’s also a bill repealing Virginia’s informed-consent requirement, under which abortion providers must provide each woman at least 24 hours’ notice of her right to withdraw consent for the procedure, to speak with the physician who is to perform the abortion, and to know the gestational age of her unborn child. Another bill takes abortion facilities out of the “hospital” category, thus weakening their safety regulations. The hard-won requirements that an ultrasound be performed on each woman seeking abortion, and that she be given the opportunity to see that sonogram, will be gone. Mandatory parental consent for minors seeking abortion will be abolished. Pro-abortion advocates told Associated Press they hope to make Virginia a “safe haven” for women in neighboring conservative states that have these laws regulating abortion. Tarina Keene, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, says “These laws have been about shaming women, stigmatizing abortion, shutting off access, discouraging doctors from providing this care.” Care? These protective laws were a way to enhance safety and provide protective care for women who chose abortion, which is not care. Every abortion kills an unborn baby and damages its mother. Pro-choice advocates in blue states see the Supreme Court chipping away at Roe v. Wade. They worry Roe will be reversed. So they are proactively repealing these abortion restrictions where they can. And negating a decade of progress.