Five days from now, Virginians will have an opportunity to save the lives of thousands of innocent unborn lives. But will they take it?
On Tuesday, the commonwealth will hold elections for its General Assembly, meaning all 100 House of Delegates and 40 Senate seats will be up for grabs. In the House, Republicans currently hold a 48-46 majority, with six vacancies. Meanwhile, Democrats control the Senate with a 22-18 majority.
With Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, occupying the governor’s mansion and GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears able to break tie votes in the upper chamber, a few Republican victories on Tuesday could give the Virginia GOP trifecta control of the state government for the first time since 2013.
For a list of every state legislative election and their rated competitiveness, see here.
Since Youngkin took office early last year, Virginia Democrats have routinely used their slim Senate majority to stonewall conservative legislative proposals, including pro-life bills. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Virginia Republicans sought to advance several pro-life measures during this year’s legislative session, one of which would prohibit the killing of unborn babies after 15 weeks of pregnancy with limited exceptions.
Under current Virginia law, abortion is legal throughout the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. As noted by the Family Research Council, however, a provision of state law virtually allows abortion “up to the moment of birth through a [broadly defined] ‘health’ exception.”
While not as strong as protections passed in more Republican-friendly states, the GOP-backed proposal would have put Virginia on par with most European countries and in lockstep with the majority of Americans’ view on the issue. Yet, without a second thought, Senate Democrats killed the measure.
Since then, Youngkin has pledged to advance 15-week protections for the unborn should Republicans take control of the General Assembly next week. Of course, this has prompted Democrat candidates to launch unhinged attacks against their GOP counterparts. One ad run by Virginia House Democrats, for instance, baselessly claimed women who abort their unborn child will end up in jail if “MAGA Republicans” win control of the legislature. Another run by Democrat Sen. Monty Mason against his Republican opponent, Danny Diggs, made similarly unsubstantiated claims.
Contrary to their insane accusations, it’s Virginia Democrats who are the extremists on abortion. Recall it was then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam who openly declared Democrats’ support for abortion up until the moment of — and even after — birth. When pressed during a 2019 interview on a bill sponsored by a Virginia House delegate seeking to legalize abortion through all 40 weeks of pregnancy, Northam admitted that the legislation would effectively allow a baby who survives a botched abortion to be murdered after he or she is delivered.
“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother,” Northam said.
The bill’s sponsor, Democrat Del. Kathy Tran, also confessed her proposal would have allowed a fully developed baby to be killed right before its birth. Fortunately, the bill did not advance out of committee.
Virginians can’t afford to sit on the sidelines during Tuesday’s elections with so many innocent lives at stake. Republican victories won’t just allow the Virginia GOP to advance much-needed policy reforms; it would permit them to stamp out Democrats’ abortion extremism and protect the most defenseless among us. And that is something worth voting for.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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