ACLJ Submits FOIA Demands to Expose the Truth Behind Virginia’s Barbaric Abortion Legislation and Governor Northam’s Support for Infanticide

“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 mother.”

Those were the words of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. He was discussing the potential circumstance of a living baby, born after a failed abortion attempt, if the Virginia legislature were to pass a controversial bill that would allow for abortion on demand at any point during a pregnancy, even at the moment of – and as I explained before possibly even after – birth.

By Governor Northam’s own admission, that living, breathing baby would still not be afforded the basic rights and protections of a human being, until someone else decided whether that living breathing child deserved them or not.

Governor Northam’s office later released a statement offering a vague clarification of his statement:

“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.”

As I’ve previously explained, this is false for at least three reasons: 1) Abortion studies have concluded that abortions for these reasons make up only a small portion of late-term abortions. 2) How could he have been talking about a “nonviable pregnancy” when he said the “infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired?” A nonviable pregnancy would by definition not be an “infant” who could be “resuscitated.” 3) His defense of his comments was to say they are about a baby with disabilities?

To the governor, somehow it was less bad that he was advocating infanticide of a child who may face disabilities. So the governor went from infanticide to straight up eugenics. Of course, this particular governor has a habit of going from bad to worse when it comes to his own bigoted views.

We told you about the bill in question – HB 2491, the Repeal Act – that, according to its own author, Virginia House of Delegates member Kathy Tran, would allow for a woman to obtain an abortion even at the moment of birth.

When asked the specific question, “when it’s obvious a woman is about to give birth . . . could she still request an abortion,” Tran answered, “My bill would allow that, yes.”

This is no longer about the Left’s usual abortion distortion about when they think life begins. This is about a live baby, successfully delivered – intentionally or not – from his or her mother’s womb. This is no longer just abortion. It’s infanticide. And the governor supports it.

At the ACLJ, we not only vehemently oppose it, we are taking immediate action to expose the truth behind this ghoulish bill and stop it before it comes back up in a future legislative session (thankfully it was tabled in committee this time). We want to know whether the legislators supporting it have interests beyond “women’s health issues.”

We filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demands to force the State of Virginia to produce all records regarding this extreme legislation. We will get to the bottom of what it’s really about, and if and how much Planned Parenthood or others in the abortion lobby were involved in its creation.

We sent our records demands to Governor Northam’s office, as well as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, and Attorney General Mark Herring. Each have been supportive of this and other similarly barbaric abortion legislation, and as you may have heard, all three are currently embroiled in other personal controversies – each unrelated, yet perhaps telling about their respect for human rights and dignity – at the moment.

They’re not alone. Just recently the U.S. Senate had a chance to protect babies by passing new legislation to criminalize infanticide nationwide, require abortionists to provide lifesaving care, and ensure the surviving babies would be admitted to a hospital.

Instead, they did the unthinkable. 44 pro-abortion Senators blocked the legislation (yes, including both of Virginia’s Senators – Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner), and chose to support infanticide and allow medical care to be denied to living, breathing, helpless human beings.

We gave you the name of every Senator who voted in favor of letting babies die, some of whom have already announced their intentions to run for the White House. But that’s not enough.

We’re battling back against these horrific abortion laws. We’re digging into these pieces of legislation to see who was really behind them – both in Virginia and in New York – and which lawmakers have been bought and paid for by the abortion industry.

And if they refuse to respond as required by law, we will take these pro-abortion officials to court. We will leave no legal stone unturned in the fight for life.

Stand with us to fight these laws and protect precious babies before it’s too late.