Friday, February 24, 2012
Bill approved by Senate committee, but Senate sends it back.
The Virginia Senate voted 24-14 Thursday afternoon to send the "personhood" bill back to committee and carry it over to 2013. Senate Republican Leader Tommy Norment of James City County made the motion to shelve the bill, saying more study is needed. The vote came hours after the Senate Education and Health Committee endorsed the measure on an 8-7 party-line vote, with Democrats voting against it. Loudoun Senate delegation was divided on the issue. Sen. Dick Black (R-13) voted for the bill in committee and against recommitting it to the committee. Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-27) also voted against recommitting the the bill, while Sens. Barbara Favola (D-31) and Mark Herring (R-33) supported sending the bill back to committee. Original …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Saturday Night Live and Jon Stewart poke fun at Virginia's focus on ultrasound and 'personhood' bills.
The Virginia House of Delegates delayed final voting again Tuesday on the Senate-passed version of a bill that would require women to undergo a mandatory ultrasound before getting an abortion. The bill, which is expected to pass the Republican-controlled chamber, would then be sent to Gov. Bob McDonnell's desk to be signed into law. Critics of the bill say such legislation would be too invasive and may require a 'transvaginal' probe if the pregnancy is in its early stages. There are two identical versions of the bill, one in each chamber. The ultrasound bills and Manassas Sen. Bob Marshall's personhood bill, which states that life begins at conception, grabbed headlines across the country for each clearing one of Virginia's chambers. …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Virginia legislature has received attention from the national media for its measures.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
by Zack Budryk (Capital News Service) RICHMOND—More than 1,000 people turned out at the Capitol on Monday to silently protest a wave of legislation they claim undermines women’s reproductive rights. The demonstration focused largely on two measures: House Bill 1, which would give the legal status of a human being to a fertilized egg, and HB 462, which would require a trans-vaginal ultrasound before undergoing an abortion. Both bills have passed the House of Delegates and are being considered by the Senate Education and Health Committee. The bills have garnered attention of national media shows—and Saturday Night Live— in a year when social issues have become a presidential election issue. “We want the state legislators to know that we are …
Ann
7:48 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012
As for the Personhood Bill. How silly is it to say that a microscopic cellular structure is a person -- unless of course it is in a frozen container in an invitro fertilization clinic, when it can be flushed down the drain, no problem. Rediculous! This kind of legal ambiguity certainly appears to be a thinly-veiled attempt at social engineering. Or worse yet, an attempt to allow a biological … more ›