Democrats’ amendment would remove abortion restrictions
General Assembly Democrats are seeking to amend Virginia’s Constitution to state, “… every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom” (HJR1, SJR1). Their primary, though not sole, purpose appears to be ensuring minimal, if any, restrictions on abortion.
If successful, Democrats may need to address some inconsistencies. Virginia’s third-grade Family Life Standards of Learning (SOL) state, “The student will become aware that … babies begin with a sperm and an egg … This is an age-appropriate, medically-accurate introduction to reproduction … at the end of nine months of development, the baby leaves the mother’s body …”
However, Democrats seem intent on removing all legal protections for children before birth. This presents a significant contradiction to what is taught to young students and is not a result of any Republican strategy.
The 2020 revised SOLs were implemented under the tenure of pro-choice Gov. Ralph Northam. Democrat Del. Kathy Tran in 2019 proposed a repeal act to significantly liberalize abortion in the latter stages of pregnancy. In a hearing, Republican Del. Todd Gilbert asked Tran if her bill would allow abortion during delivery. A video shows Tran affirming, “My bill would allow that, yes.”
There are more concerns. Virginia currently bans cloning: “No person shall perform human cloning … to initiate a pregnancy … any person violating … shall be liable for a civil penalty … not to exceed $50,000 for each incident” (VA Code §32.1-162.22). Under the proposed reproductive amendment, cloning and the creation of gene-edited “designer” babies with enhanced intelligence and physical abilities could not be prohibited. The amendment states, “This right to … effectuate one’s own decisions about … one’s pregnancy shall not be … infringed … unless justified by a compelling state interest … A state interest is compelling only when it is to ensure the protection of the health of an individual seeking care …” However, preventing a race of designer babies is not directed at the health of the woman, so it cannot be prohibited.
Historically, Planned Parenthood, a leading abortion advocate, produced a 1952 brochure stating, “What is birth control? … Is it an abortion? Definitely not. It kills the life of a baby after it has begun.” Additionally, Planned Parenthood Dr.
Alan Guttmacher, who would later serve as the organization’s president, wrote,
“To extinguish the first spark of life is a crime of the same nature, both against our Maker and society, as to destroy an infant, a child, or a man” (“Having a Baby: A Guide to Expectant Parents,” 1947).
The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (August 2020) reported that in a study of 617 pregnant women, each participant had a detectable fetal heartbeat between six weeks and zero days and eight weeks and six days. The March of Dimes notes at six weeks, “Your baby’s heart beats about 105 times a minute. Her nose, mouth, fingers, toes and ears are forming and begin to take shape.”
Thus, abortion stops a beating heart. Virginia has never prosecuted women for abortion, but the state has long defined abortion as: “… if any person administer to … a woman, any drug or other thing … with intent to destroy her unborn child, or to produce abortion … and thereby destroy such child … he shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony” (VA Code §18.2-7). The Virginia Supreme Court ruled in Anderson v. Commonwealth, 190 Va. 665, 673 (1950), that abortion is committed “against the mother as well as against the child.”
California Medicine (September 1970) acknowledged that “everyone … knows … human life begins at conception … The very considerable semantic gymnastics … required to rationalize abortion as anything but taking a human life would be ludicrous if they were not often put forth under socially impeccable auspices …”
Before supporting the Democrats’ amendment, consider researching a baby’s development, for instance, on babycenter. com.