Washington, DC—Catherine Glenn Foster, President & CEO at Americans United for Life, issued the following admonishing Governor Ralph Northam’s signing of the “Virginia Reproductive Health Protection Act”.
“Virginia Governor Ralph Northam should have been removed from office last year after he stated clearly and directly that when a child is born alive during an attempted abortion, she could be denied basic care and compassion, and left to die alone. He should have resigned from office a few days later when his racially insensitive actions came to light. Since neither his indifference towards the lives of newly born infants nor towards his fellow, minority citizens were enough to make Governor Northam make the decent choice to leave office, we are now left with the devastating outcome that he has signed Virginia’s so-called “Reproductive Health Protections Act”—a fallacious name in every conceivable way since it only seeks to put women in more danger as it destroys community protections.
“This is a horribly destructive bill that will undermine the role of law to protect and guide. This bill lowers the basic, common sense health and safety standards that abortion facilities must meet, degrades women’s care, and will result in unsafe abortionists operating with even more impunity. The bill eliminates reflection periods for women seeking an abortion while denying vulnerable women the full truth on what abortion means, what abortion is, and what abortion does. The most heartbreaking part of this travesty to me personally is its repeal of the lifesaving ultrasound requirement in Virginia. When I went in for my abortion, scared and only 19 years old, I was denied the option to see the ultrasound of my baby. I asked, but the abortion worker said no. Now women all over the commonwealth of Virginia will be denied that basic right as well. It would have changed the course of my life. Women deserve better.
Americans United for Life (AUL) is a nonprofit, public-interest law and policy organization that holds the distinction of being the first national pro-life organization in America—incorporated in 1971. It protects and defends human life from conception to natural death through vigorous legislative, judicial, and educational efforts.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, CONTACT
NOAH BRANDT, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
press@aul.org or 202-741-4921
