VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - With weeks to go until the 2023 General Assembly session begins, the debate over abortion is heating up in Virginia.
In the governor's proposed budget released last week, Gov. Youngkin dedicated $50,000 to establish a ban on abortions after 15-weeks of pregnancy under the Dept. of Corrections budget.
In response, Democrats vowed to defeat any anti-abortion measures. "I'm going to need a fire extinguisher because this bill is going into my trash can AND getting lit on fire," Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) tweeted Monday.
Glenn Youngkin put money in his budget for the corrections department to jail women if they violate his 15 week abortion ban. I'm going to need a fire extinguisher because this bill is going into my trash can AND getting lit on fire. pic.twitter.com/IiyIJDlmSF
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) December 19, 2022
A spokesperson for Gov. Youngkin defended the budget line, saying Democrats were "deliberately misleading people." She said the line is a "technical requirement to include any legislation that may expand a felony in the budget, even before it passes. And the Democrats know this."
"The Governor will not sign a bill that imprisons women, that's pure political posturing," Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement.
Another proposal from the governor included in the budget would stop the use of taxpayer funds for certain types of abortion, which some groups say would deny funding to Medicaid-eligible pregnant people.
“Governor Youngkin’s decision to strike this funding from Virginia’s budget is nothing short of heartless and cruel. It places people who face complex and tragic circumstances surrounding pregnancy, like a fatal fetal diagnosis, into impossible situations," said Jamie Lockhart, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
The debate over the topic putting a lot of attention on the upcoming special election in Virginia's 7th Senate district between Democrat Aaron Rouse and Republican Kevin Adams.
Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate, so if they were able to flip the seat it would increase their buffer during the upcoming session, which begins next month.
Rouse has vowed to protect abortion rights if elected. “As the next State Senator representing Norfolk and Virginia Beach, I promise to protect women’s reproductive rights and will ensure these dangerous bans and bills never see the light of day," he said in part in a statement.
During in an interview with News 3 last month, Adams did not commit to supporting a 15 week ban, but his campaign website now says he would. "I am pro-life. I believe this is an issue where we can find common ground," his website says.
