VPM News reports that Virginia’s General Assembly last week approved four constitutional amendments, which the state’s voters will now consider this November.
One of the amendments is the inclusion of a fundamental right to abortion -- virtually unlimited at any stage of pregnancy.
Student’s for Life Action (SFLAction) have already condemned the state government for passing the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment and are calling for Virginian voters to vote no on the ballots.
Other life advocates are speaking out as well.
Victoria Cobb, a Virginia resident and president of The Family Foundation of Virginia, spoke with Tony Perkins on Washinton Watch. As she put it, the amendment is not really what the Left is advertising.
“What you will hear when they pump the millions of dollars into our commonwealth to put up radio ads is that all we're doing is solidifying Roe v. Wade,” Cobb said. “That's going to be the selling point.”
Furthermore, Cobb says there is no question that this bill is written by the abortion industry and brought forth by a hostile government.
“This amendment isn't being brought by the people. This is a bunch of politicians who are funded by the industry, and they're bringing it forward to increase volume and to reduce any kind of cost that would be around safety for women,” explains Cobb. “The only people that benefit from this bill, it's not unborn, and it's not the women. It's actually Planned Parenthood and Big Pharma who distribute the chemical abortion pills.”
She points to that alone as a reason why even pro-choice individuals should not vote for the bill. The only benefactor is the abortion industry, and the repercussions can harm other states as well.
Expect a misleading campaign. The amendment’s backers will warn people that the alternative would be a full ban on abortion in Virginia.
“While you might be pro-life and might wish that there were no abortions in Virginia, we are an incredibly permissive state for abortion as it is right now. This amendment would just make it worse,” says Cobb.
Presently, parental consent is required in order for a young girl to have an abortion in Virginia. The amendment essentially overrides that requirement, which is in violation of parental rights. Secondly, three doctors are required to sign off on late-term abortion – the reason being either that the child is non-viable or the mother’s health is at risk.
“After this amendment passes, you'll have a situation where the only person making that decision about whether an abortion is allowed at the very latest moments is the abortionist, the one who profits from the procedure,” states Cobb.
The impact of this amendment is more far-reaching than one would assume. Not only will it affect the unborn, which are already in a vulnerable state, but critics point out that it will impact women, parents, healthcare providers, and taxpayers.
Cobb’s main concern is women. If the bill passes, it is important to understand, she says, that women will no longer be able to rely on any safety measures.
“If a woman goes to make a decision that you or I might not make, we still don't want to have the possibility of losing two lives when she walks into that abortion facility,” she told Perkins. “This would eliminate the possibility of having any kind of reasonable safety standards for that woman because they would be viewed as impeding her right to an abortion.”
'Deep concerns' for future of abortion
There are also “deep concerns” regarding the protection that the bill gives to the abortion industry, Cobb said.
“There's also this idea planted into our amendment that doctors, providers, and people who engage in helping a woman receive an abortion would basically have no prosecution from the commonwealth. There would be basically no way to ever hold them accountable if something goes wrong,” warns Cobb.
Cobb emphasizes that, while it is just a state amendment, it is of national interest and other pro-life states should care about the outcome.
“We have situations where doctors are mailing chemical abortion [drugs] into pro-life states, like Louisiana and Texas and other places. What this would do is protect those doctors or pharmacists that are Virginians from any kind of prosecution by the other state, no extradition from the governor,” says Cobb.
The Left has held up Virginia as the place where the entire South would be able to get an abortion, she said. Other southern states are doing a better job of protecting life, she said.
