by WorldTribune Staff, January 31, 2019
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, in a radio interview discussing legislation which would repeal the state’s restrictions on late-term abortions, suggested an infant could be born and then the mother and doctor could discuss what should happen next.
Some observers said the Democrat governor’s seeming advocacy for infanticide raises the specter of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who was sentenced to life in prison for killing live babies or leaving them to die after they were born.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said there is no place in public service for someone with such “morally repugnant” views.
“In just a few years pro-abortion zealots went from ‘safe, legal, and rare’ to ‘keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide,’ ” Sasse said, according to The National Review. “I don’t care what party you’re from – if you can’t say that it’s wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.”
In an interview with WTOP radio, Northam said: “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.”
President Donald Trump, in an interview with The Daily Caller, predicted that Northam’s comments will “lift up the whole pro-life movement like maybe it’s never been lifted up before. I think this will very much lift up the issue because people have never thought of it in those terms.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, re-tweeted Northam’s comment and added, “I never thought I would see the day America had government officials who openly support legal infanticide.”
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted: “Dem Gov. Ralph Northam, a pediatrician himself, is defending born-alive abortions.”
Former Sen. Jim DeMint called Northam’s remark’s “evil.”
DeMint tweeted: “VA Gov Northam is no moderate, this is one of the most vile, radical pro-abortion positions ever put forward. This is evil. He should recant or resign.”
Northam, a former pediatric neurologist, tweeted on Jan. 30: “I have devoted my life to caring for children and any insinuation otherwise is shameful and disgusting.”
Ofirah Yheskel, a spokeswoman for Northam, said Republicans were twisting the governor’s words.
“No woman seeks a third-trimester abortion except in the case of tragic or difficult circumstances, such as a nonviable pregnancy or in the event of severe fetal abnormalities, and the governor’s comments were limited to the actions physicians would take in the event that a woman in those circumstances went into labor,” Yheskel said.
Earlier this month, Democratic Virginia Delegate Kathy Tran introduced HB 2491. The legislation seeks to repeal the state’s current restrictions on late-term abortions. The bill would allow a doctor to perform an abortion when a woman is dilating, meaning she is about to give birth.
Asked at a hearing if a woman about to give birth and dilating could still request an abortion, Tran said “My bill would allow that, yes.”
The legislation would also eliminate the state’s requirement that second- and third-trimester abortions be performed only to preserve the health or life of the mother. Obtaining an ultrasound before an abortion would also not be required under the proposed law.
Currently, three physicians must conclude that a third-trimester abortion is necessary to preserve the health or life of the woman. Those requirements are stripped under the proposed legislation, which also removes the state’s mandate that second- and third-trimester abortions be performed in hospitals.
“Clearly, this kind of legislation is an attempt to create legal infanticide as viable babies are aborted to the cheers of abortion extremists,” Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins said in a statement.
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Sen. Sasse to Virginia governor: ‘Get the hell out of public office’ added by World Tribune on
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