Democratic Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax cast the tie breaking vote on progressive abortion legislation Thursday.
Fairfax, who was accused of sexual assault by two separate women in 2019, cast the tie breaking vote to pass Senate Bill No. 733. The bill reduces safety measures instituted by Republican lawmakers related to obtaining an abortion in Virginia, including the requirement that a woman see an ultrasound and wait 24 hours before she obtains an abortion. The bill also makes it legal for non-doctors to perform abortions in Virginia.
The lieutenant governor and Senate president cast the tie breaking vote to pass the bill, the Catholic News Agency reported. Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who floated the idea that an unborn baby could be allowed to die even after birth in early 2019, is expected to sign the bill.
Under current Virginia law, women must be given “a full, reasonable and comprehensive medical explanation of the procedure,” before they obtain an abortion. The mother must also be told how old her unborn baby is, how far along the baby is, and that she can withdraw consent for the abortion at any time, according to CNA.
Pro-life leaders condemned the passage of the bill, calling the Democratic lawmakers who voted for it “extremist.” (RELATED: Fairfax Considers Run For Governor After Rape Accusations Make Him More Recognizable)
“Elections have consequences,” Susan B. Anthony List Vice President of Communications Mallory Quigley told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “When extremist Democrats took over the Virginia legislature, we knew we could expect them to push a radical agenda to strip even modest pro-life, pro-woman protections out of state law.”
Quigley warned that “Virginia is going down an extremist path,” which is out of step with how the majority of Americans feel about abortion.
“In the coming national elections, it is all the more urgent to defeat abortion extremists in the mold of Ralph Northam and Justin Fairfax, and re-elect President Trump and pro-life leaders in the U.S. Senate who will protect unborn children and their mothers,” Quigley added.
March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said in a statement to the DCNF that Fairfax’s tiebreaking vote marked “a sad day for the state.”
“Radical pro-abortion politicians continue to insist on pushing abortion at any cost, even when it lowers the bar for women’s health and safety,” Mancini said. “The women of Virginia deserve far better than this. For over a decade eight out of ten Americans would significantly limit abortion- that includes six out of ten pro-choice Americans. Virginia legislators are blindly following the abortion lobby on this and way out of touch with their constituents.”
“How does it make sense to allow a non-physician to perform an invasive and dangerous procedure?” Steven H. Aden, Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel at Americans United for Life, said in a statement.
“Virginia is courting disaster by advancing this retrograde legislation,” Aden added. “Abortion will become even more dirty and dangerous in Virginia, patient care will degrade, and women seeking care will be at greater risk.”
Fairfax did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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