I am so angry right now, it's not even funny. I'm living in one of the handful of states that is considering some of the most vile and disgusting legislation to come about in a long while.
I'm writing letters to legislators:
My husband and I are proud parents of two children, R. (also a voter) and G., both of whom have special needs. You would think that would mean we are writing a pro-life letter, but we are not. We are very strongly pro-choice and the reason is that we think that every child should be a wanted child. My children have been wanted and loved. With nearly 20% of American children dealing with hunger issues, increasing rates of child abuse, and a world population burgeoning well beyond our global capacity to support it, I think that having wanted children is essential. Loved and wanted children don't typically grow up to be burdens on society. Abused and neglected children have different statistics.
I am writing to you to let you know that my husband and I are deeply saddened by the turn the State of Virginia has taken with the consideration of recent bills, specifically, HB 1, HB 62, HB 261 (incorporated into 462), SB 484, HB 1285, and HB 464.
HB1 is disturbing. Most states have fetal murder laws, which exclude abortions, such that any act of violence that intentionally kills a fetus (and by addition, usually the mother) is wrong. The idea of that law was to protect women against violence, as well as their wanted pregnancies and came about in the aftermath of specific heinous crimes of violence against pregnant women, where women were brutally murdered, often in an attempt to also kill their fetuses. HB1 is trying to ban abortion in its own way by defining a "person." I am writing to ask you to absolutely refuse to support HB1. If Virginia needs a law on fetal homocide, then craft one that specifically excludes abortions. Women should not be forced to carry a pregnancy, if they do not want one, but they should be protected against violence against them and their wanted pregnancy.
HB 62 is to repeal funding for abortions for low-income women in the instance that their child is going to be born with a gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency. My son has cerebral palsy and has many of the accompanying health conditions. Suffice it to say, that we have teetered on the edge of bankruptcy for years trying to keep him alive and well, a burden we have carried willingly. A child should be wanted in any circumstance. Forcing someone who is already struggling to make it from day to day to have a child that will be a huge financial and emotional burden is unreasonable. Disabled children suffer enormously higher instances of abuse and neglect than almost any other population of children, according to the American Association of Pediatrics. (http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;108/2/508). Additionally, the financial costs to the State will be enormous at best to support a severely incapacitated child, especially, if that child ends up institutionalized. If a woman sizes up the situation and knows she can't handle a child who is incapacitated either physically or mentally, then trust them to make the choice that's best for them. Every child should be wanted and loved. Every child deserves that.
SB 484 and HB261/462 is simply disgusting and unethical. Any woman, who is considering an abortion in the State of Virginia already has to go through counseling that is to discourage them from having an abortion. Many of these "counseling" services show pretty graphic videos. I think, if after viewing one of those, someone still wants an abortion, then they probably have a particularly good reason to. Whether a woman needs an intra-vaginal procedure, where a wand is inserted into her vagina, should definitely NOT be a decision the State of Virginia should make, but should be left to qualified medical professionals! Forcing the insertion of anything into a woman's vagina is called, "rape." Requiring that a woman be forced to go through a medical procedure to further force the issue down her throat by essentially forcing her to see or hear the heartbeat of a fetus is just plain insulting. She's already getting counseling. I'm appalled that the Legislature of Virginia thinks it has the medical background to know and thus, require medical procedures and has singled out women for all of these sudden flashes of blanket medical knowledge.
HB 1285 "prohibits an abortion after 20 weeks gestation unless, in reasonable medical judgment, the mother has a condition that so complicates her medical condition as to necessitate the abortion to avert her death or to avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function." This seems to be completely unnecessary because 90% of all abortions are performed in the first trimester, i.e., the first 3 months of pregnancy and the remainder are typically only performed in those circumstances. This has the State trying to be involved in a process, which clearly should be up to the woman and her doctor. I think the language I find most upsetting here is this: "the physician is required to terminate the pregnancy in a manner that would provide the unborn child the best opportunity to survive." It's a felony if the doctor doesn't try to make the unborn fetus survive. What about the mother?!! The mother is alive and breathing! If the woman is having the abortion at this late date, it's because she's in some kind of danger, not because she doesn't want to have a baby. The way in which the procedure is done should be up to a medical professional and the woman -- NOT the State of Virginia!
HB464 reads along just fine until you get to the abortion language. Again, I think healthcare for women should not be dictated by law. The problem with disallowing coverage of abortion under healthcare in this manner, is that someone who constitutes the "working poor," who might be living check to check, and be paying for healthcare, as we all are, and may not be able to afford an abortion nor a child. Healthcare should cover all aspects of health and health risk. You risk children's lives by bringing unwanted children into this world! My mother worked in a law office and often spoke about having to listen to the despicable things people did to abuse their unwanted children. Please make sure every child in Virginia is a wanted child!
Every child should be wanted. Abortion is a awful choice, but it should be a choice left between a woman, her doctor, and God. I can not imagine that it is anyone's business what occurs in the vagina or uterus of any woman, other than herself, her doctor, and God. We teach our children that their private parts are theirs and are called "private" for a reason. Because they are private, they are expected to keep them private.
In summary, we expect private matters to be kept private. Let medical professionals make the medical decisions that are best for their patients. There are plenty of malpractice laws and lawyers. Additionally, we expect that every child in Virginia should be a wanted child. Children everywhere deserve to be wanted and loved. Virginia should be no exception.
Sincerely....
You bet I'm sincere. And now, 22 years after I protested in D.C. the last time about these same issues. We are here again, Marching on Washington.
This time, I get to bring my kids with me and hopefully, this time, stupid narrow-minded legislators will listen because I don't want to be doing this pushing 70.