Virginia's Public Square
Virginia's Public Square
54% of Democratic lawmakers sponsored Kathy Tran’s late term abortion bill, in addition to Governor Ralph Northam, Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, and Attorney General Mark Herring. The bill is supported by a majority of Virginia Democrats. Here’s the list.
Following a week of national outrage, two prominent pro-choice Democrats, former Governor Terry McAuliffe and US Senator Tim Kaine, are distancing themselves from Virginia’s controversial abortion bill submitted by Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Springfield), which drew widespread condemnation after Tran said on tape the bill would allow virtually unrestricted abortion in the third trimester, up until the moment of birth.
In a Sunday morning CNN interview, McAuliffe distanced himself from the legislation, responding “absolutely not” when host Jake Tapper asked the potential presidential candidate if he supported it.
“Where we come from, it’s ‘life of the mother’ in the last trimester,” said McAuliffe.
“I do not support that legislation, nor does Ralph,” he continued, falsely stating that Governor Northam did not support Tran’s “Repeal Act.”
Northam voiced public support for the abortion bill at a January 17th press conference, held with Tran and several pro-abortion groups backing the measure. At the event, Northam received praise from Tarina Keene, executive director of NARL Pro-Choice Virginia, who thanked the governor for making the legislation a priority of his administration.
“As you know, I do support the repeal bill,” said Northam, before later urging Virginians to elect a Democratic majority, to pass the bill next year.
Joining McAuliffe in denouncing Tran’s late term abortion bill was Tim Kaine, one of the two United States Senators representing the Commonwealth.
“I support the existing Virginia law, which has been in place since the mid-’70s, and it puts conditions upon a third-trimester abortion,” said Kaine, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “I support the existing law, not the Tran bill. I don’t think the existing law needs to be changed.”
As Virginia’s governor and later senator, Kaine had a pro-choice voting record.
As governor, McAuliffe was also favorably inclined towards abortion rights, which he noted in his CNN interview. During his 2013 campaign, McAuliffe received $1,689,519 from Planned Parenthood and affiliates, according to campaign finance reports compiled by VPAP.
McAuliffe and Kaine’s distancing reinforce a frequent criticism from Republican leaders, that the public outrage over the bill is genuinely against a measure which voters feel goes too far.
According polling conducted by Gallup from May 1-10, 2018, only 13% of Americans support legislation allowing unrestricted abortion until the moment of birth, as Tran’s bill proposed.
Gallup’s findings mirror results from a January 2019 Marist survey, which found only 15% of adults in support of Tran’s position, allowing virtually unrestricted abortion at any point during a pregnancy.
Already, public reaction to the bill has been swift, drawing condemnation even from many pro-choice voters who, like McAuliffe and Kaine, support legal abortion, but not late term abortion all the way through 40 weeks of pregnancy.
That outrage pushed one of the bill’s 22 Democratic co-sponsors, pro-choice Delegate Dawn Adams (D-Henrico), to withdraw her support.
After the controversy broke, Adams wrote in a letter to constituents that he hadn’t fully read the bill before signing on to it, saying she “did not exercise due diligence,” according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“I made a mistake, and all I know to do is to admit it, tell the truth, and let the chips fall where they may,” read Adams’ letter.
In the Virginia House on Friday, Delegate Rob Bell (R-Albemarle) asked the 20 House Democratic co-sponsors where they stood on the legislation, noting they still have time to withdraw their support, on an issue which could prove important in the upcoming fall elections.
“It is now Friday,” said Bell. “I would encourage all of my friends to take this chance to not let this week end without making it crystal clear where you stand on this law that we now all understand what it says.”
“If you’re a co-patron and wish to get off, you still can. You can walk down the aisle, talk to Mr. Nardo, and he will take you off as a co-patron of the bill.”
As of Sunday morning, Virginia’s legislative information system showed that none of the co-patrons had withdrawn their sponsorship of the bill.
After apologizing to the Commonwealth last night for appearing in racist garb in his medical college yearbook, and the subsequent calls for his resignation, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) is now questioning the photo that was released. He now says he does not believe it was him in the photo, even after confirming it was Friday night.
The photo that was released Friday depicted him dressed either in “blackface” or in a Ku Klux Klan uniform in his medical college yearbook. Shortly after the photo went viral, Governor Northam confirmed that it was him depicted, but would not say which one.
The Virginian-Pilot reported the photo yesterday afternoon from the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook.
In the hours following, the governor released a statement:
“Earlier today, a website published a photograph of me from my 1984 medical school yearbook in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive. I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now. This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment. I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their Governor.”
Furthermore, a second photo has surfaced of Northam’s yearbook while at the Virginia Military Institute in the early 1980s. His picture included multiple nicknames, one of which was “Coonman,” a racial epithet.
A protest at the Governor’s Mansion that began Saturday morning is still going on with citizens calling for Northam’s “immediate” resignation.
The Democratic Party of Virginia said on Twitter hours ago, “We made the decision to let Governor Northam do the correct thing and resign this morning – we have gotten word he will not do so this morning.”
Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia Jack Wilson appeared on CNN Friday night with host Anderson Cooper, stating that Governor Northam “should resign for the good of the Commonwealth.”
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) confirmed yesterday he was either in “blackface” or wearing a KKK uniform in his medical college yearbook.
Culpeper, a quiet Central Virginia town of less than 20,000 people, is making headlines today.
“Misinformation has been circulating on where Virginia Democrats stand on issues related to women’s reproductive health,” said Governor Ralph Northam (D) at a Thursday afternoon press conference. The situation began Tuesday morning after shocking video was released from a House subcommittee meeting detailing a Democratic lawmaker speaking about her late-term abortion bill.
H.B. 2491, introduced by Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Springfield), would repeal restrictions on third trimester abortions, allowing abortion doctors to self-certify the necessity of late-term procedures, eliminate informed consent requirements, repeal abortion clinic health and safety standards, permit late-term abortions to be performed in outpatient clinics, remove ultrasound requirements, and eliminate Virginia’s 24-hour waiting period.
In the days since the development, pro-life advocates from across the country have spoken out against the legislation, including President Donald Trump.
“I’m surprised that he did that, I’ve met him a number of times,” Trump said of the governor. The commander in chief also said that Delegate Tran’s remarks were “terrible,” after having seen the video.
At the press conference this afternoon, beside members of the Virginia Democratic leadership, Governor Northam said that he was there “to set the record straight.”
“There’s a fundamental difference between us and Republicans in what we believe on a woman’s right to choose. We believe legislators, most of whom are men, should not be making decisions about women’s choices for their reproductive health.”
Northam added that the Virginia GOP is trying to “score points any way they can.”
“Virginia Democrats know we are better than that,” he added.
Attorney General Mark Herring (D) spoke next. He started off by saying that “desperation can be ugly. And what we saw yesterday from Republicans was desperate and ugly.” He stated that claims from GOP lawmakers that Governor Northam supports infanticide “would be laughable if it wasn’t such a grotesque idea.”
During a Wednesday morning address on WTOP’s “Ask The Governor” segment, Northam commented on the situation surrounding the response to Delegate Tran’s bill by saying the widespread reaction was “blown out of proportion.”
Explaining it himself, he said the following:
“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
Conservatives across the Commonwealth and the U.S. quickly condemned Northam’s rhetoric, charging that he “supports infanticide.”
During the press conference, when asked about what he said and if it had been taken out of context, he responded with, “I don’t have any regrets….I regret that those comments have been mischaracterized.”
Regardless, it spurred Republican lawmakers to give emotional speeches on the floor of the House the following day.
Speaker of the House Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) made a rare and powerful speech after he stepped of the dais.
“I will never stop fighting for the promise of life as long as I hold a gavel, as long as I can speak into this microphone, as long as I have the privilege of this floor. I promise to fight for the promise of life,” he said.
Delegate Scott Garrett (R-Lynchburg) also gave a personal story.
“Mr. Speaker, I’m not going to let anyone take the life of my son, and I’m not going to vote to allow other people to take the lives of other people’s sons,” he proclaimed.
As Virginians continue to reel from this week’s developments, one comment from House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) rings very true.
“I think what my Democratic colleagues are most concerned about is what this moment actually revealed. It was a moment of unbridled honesty about their agenda, and their legislation, and what it actually does.”
Meanwhile, the RTD’s Graham Moomaw asked Democratic minority leader Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) whether they had any intentions of bringing the infanticide bill back should they capture the majority in the November 2019 elections:
When asked if Democrats would pursue legislation similar to Tran’s if they take control of the House next year, Filler-Corn said that “there’s a lot of support for this type of legislation.”
Thousands of Virginians are about to descend on Richmond next week in defense of the preborn and in reaction to open Democratic support for infanticide.
“I think what my Democratic colleagues are most concerned about is what this moment actually revealed. It was a moment of unbridled honesty about their agenda, and their legislation, and what it actually does,” said Republican House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert.
“This is going to lift up the whole pro-life movement like maybe it’s never been lifted up before,” said President Donald Trump when responding to the highly controversial abortion bill in Virginia, and Governor Ralph Northam’s subsequent remarks.
“I did not wake up this morning to stand,” said Delegate Scott Garrett (R-Lynchburg) on his third point of personal privilege on the House floor in 10 years as a legislator in the Virginia legislature. After Speaker of the House Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) gave a rare, highly-emotional speech about reaffirming his promise to fight to protect the lives of unborn children, Delegate Garrett has a personal story of his own.
Wednesday was soul-stirring day on Bank Street. Just one day before, a Democratic legislator made headlines for her speech about a bill she introduced that would lead the Commonwealth towards the ways of New York in repealing restrictions on abortion, including terminations up until the moment of birth.
H.B. 2491, patroned by Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Springfield), would repeal restrictions on third trimester abortions, allowing abortion doctors to self-certify the necessity of late term procedures, eliminate informed consent requirements, repeal abortion clinic health and safety standards, permit late term abortions to be performed in outpatient clinics, remove ultrasound requirements, and eliminate Virginia’s 24-hour waiting period.
The response from legislators in the 24 hours since has been gripping, poignant, and emotional.
“As you all know, I’m a trauma surgeon,” Garrett said. “In 1980, almost 40 years ago, I started my education and training.”
“I have literally seen everything that can be done by a human to another human. I’ve seen men and women shot, stabbed, brutally murdered, raped, mutilated, acid thrown into their face. I’ve seen people strangled to death, and I’ve taken care of a lot of those folks,” the delegate explained.
“I have never, in 62 years on this Earth…the bill that was before us…” Garrett said has he attempted to collect his emotions in an almost silent House of Delegates.
“Mr. Speaker,” he continued, “let me tell you the story of Billy.
“In 1988, as a chief resident of pediatric surgery at the University of Florida, Billy was born at 24 weeks,” Garrett said.
“He had a hole in his heart. He had a connection between his windpipe and his esophagus, so whenever he swallowed, he was drowning himself. And he had 37 segments of his small intestine that were completely blocked.”
“I operated on that boy for 18 hours,” the delegate explained. “With the help of an amazing team, and these two hands the good Lord gave me, sir, we fixed the hole in that little boy’s heart. We closed the connection so that he could breathe normally. And I removed 37 segments of that little boy’s intestine so that intestinal function could normalize.”
“That was 31 years ago, Mr. Speaker,” Garrett said.
Then, the Lynchburg Republican legislator began another story – one that hit him closer to home.
“A lady in my district, a constituent of mine,” Garrett continued, “16 years ago, 35 years old, she became pregnant. If you’re going to deliver at 36 years or older, you are deemed to be at high risk.”
“We didn’t have a high-risk OB doctor in Lynchburg,” Garrett said, explaining on the floor of the House that they had to travel to Charlottesville’s University of Virginia medical center for care.
“The standard of care then…was to do an ultrasound of the baby, of the developing fetus, and they measure the fat pad at the base of the back of the neck, and they’re looking for one number – three millimeters,” he added.
“Three millimeters,” he said again.
“If that fat pad is thicker than three millimeters, Mr. Speaker, she was told that there was a higher than 80 percent chance that that baby would be born with neurologic deficits.
“Three millimeters, Mr. Speaker,” Garrett said gain.
“That was 16 years ago.”
Clenching his emotions, he stated, “My 16-year-old son is a good boy, Mr. Speaker. He’s a good student.”
“Many of you all met him three years ago when he was a Senate page. He’s a wonderful athlete.”
“He makes his father and his mother proud,” he told the 99 other delegates.
“And for three millimeters,” Garrett continued, “someone would have taken the life of my son.”
“Mr. Speaker, I’m not going to let anyone take the life of my son, and I’m not going to vote to allow other people to take the lives of other people’s sons.”