A year after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam espoused the practice of infanticide, the Virginian legislature officially removed abortion regulations that were protecting women and preborn babies. It’s a demonstration of what happens when a Red state turns Blue. 

In many ways, 2019 was a fantastic year for the pro-life movement. From Heartbeat bills in several states to a total abortion ban in Alabama, there was a lot of momentum for the pro-life cause. Much of the strong pro-life action was driven by radical pro-abortion laws in New York and Virginia and the shocking statements made by Governor Northam about infanticide.

But in the last election, Virginia lost its last line of defense when it comes to pro-life issues, its slight conservative majority. So, when another pro-abortion bill came up for a vote in the Commonwealth’s upper chamber, there was no way to stop it. The vote in the Senate was evenly split 50/50, which the Lieutenant Governor was able to break with a pro-abortion vote. The bill will now go to Governor Northam’s desk for a signature. This means that throughout Virginia, young women and preborn babies will be left vulnerable to the machinations of the abortion industry.

This bill strips the requirement that women must wait 24 hours before having an abortion, which is crucial time that a woman can have to evaluate her decision and possibly change her mind. It also leaves her more susceptible to the pressures of the abortion industry to have the procedure done the same day she arrives at the clinic. 

It will also allow nonphysicians to complete the abortion process during the first trimester, like nurse practitioners, physicians’ assistants and certified nurse midwives. A dangerous and irresponsible decision, it may increase the risk for abortion complications and the time that it would take for a woman to receive the necessary medical intervention.

While pro-life supporters met this decision with despair, the pro-abortion community is cheering this latest effort. 

“For too long, anti-choice politicians in Virginia have erected roadblock after roadblock to prevent women from accessing abortion care, meddling in people’s lives to advance an extreme agenda of control,” Ilyse Houge, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement.

The acting president of Planned Parenthood, Alexis McGill Johnson, said, “Today, those majorities mark a new chapter.”

This vote has nothing to do with women’s health, abortion access or reproductive rights, but everything to do with lining the pockets of the abortion industry. Nothing in this legislation will help women or their families. Instead, it will leave them open to immense pressure from abortionists and abortion clinics who want the abortion profit by sacrificing the patient’s health, safety and choice. 

Pro-abortion activists are about choice, right? Well then why do so many seem to want to put women in positions where they may make a rash decision about the life of another human being?

The 24-hour waiting period gives women time to back out or to have a family member reach out in love and support. Why would they want to deny women this opportunity? The only thing that makes sense is that the abortion industry wants women to have only one choice when they walk into an abortion clinic: abortion. 

It’s sad to witness a previously conservative stronghold like Virginia fall to the liberal mob. But that’s what usually happens when liberals with a strong progressive and pro-abortion agenda come into power in a state house. In order to appease the cult of abortion, these legislators decide to pass the most aggressive pro-abortion legislation possible with little thought to how this will affect women and families across the state.