Federal Judge Strikes Down Virginia Abortion Law, Then Has Second Thoughts

It’s being called a “miracle” and “an answer to prayer.”

A federal judge in Virginia on May 6 struck down as unconstitutional a “physicians only” requirement that has been a part of that state’s laws since 1975. That law requires that only a licensed physician may perform an abortion in Virginia. A few days later, that same judge rescinded his decision, saying that “whether the ‘Physicians-Only Law’ presents an undue burden to Virginia women who seek an abortion is a material fact that is genuinely in dispute.”

Pro-life organizations like the Family Foundation of Virginia (FFV), a Focus on the Family-affiliated family policy council, went from shock at Judge Henry Hudson’s first decision to elation at his second. Victoria Cobb is the President of FFA. In a blog post, she said:

“Your prayers continue to pay off in big ways! This afternoon, in an extremely rare and unexpected twist in the abortion industry’s zealous efforts to strike down nearly all of Virginia’s abortion restrictions, Judge Henry E. Hudson issued a sudden 180-reversal from his devastating decision last week declaring that non-doctors can commit abortions in Virginia.”

What prompted the judge’s quick reversal? He doesn’t say in the order reversing himself, but it may be no coincidence that the judge’s first decision was called into question by one of the nation’s most-read legal commentators, Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who blogs for National Review. After Judge Hudson’s first decision, Whelan quickly took him to task on his blog, noting that he found the judge’s decision “very puzzling—indeed, deeply troublesome—in several respects.”

Although Judge Hudson reversed himself, the impact may be only temporary. A trial in this matter is scheduled to begin on May 20, after which we will hear from the judge again.

Early abortions are not safe, contrary to the abortion industry’s claim in the Virginia case. In fact, even the so-called “abortion pill” presents risks of hemorrhaging, infection/sepsis, uterine ruptures, and in rare instances, death.

Please pray for a good outcome of this case. It has challenges that only God can overcome. The Virginia state officials who should be defending this law are in fact working alongside abortionists to see it overturned. It’s going to fall to the judge to sort through the abortion advocacy disguised as legal arguments to ascertain the truth.