Thursday, February 23, 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. Original story: A bill supporting Personhood – defining that life starts at conception – was approved Thursday in a Virginia Senate Health and Education committee hearing. Eight Republicans voted for HB1, and seven Democrats opposed it after an hour-long hearing. The bill passed after an amendment clarifying that no provision in it would …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Ultrasounds and Personhood distracting from more important issues like economy, U.S. Senate candidate says.
Former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) says the 2012 General Assembly's attention to divisive social issues is distracting the commonwealth from more important issues such as the economy - and turning Virginia into the butt of many jokes. Kaine, former Democratic National Committee chair and a candidate for U.S. Senate, in Northern Virginia for an economic roundtable on Wednesday, says citizens are voicing their concerns as the General Assembly prepares to move forward on bills that give full personhood rights from the moment of fertilization and mandate vaginal ultrasounds for women seeking an abortion. "What I hear from our business leaders and owners is that they are tired of partisan games and distractions causing uncertainty and …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Virginia state legislature receiving national attention for reproductive issues.
"The intention of the Virginia legislature is not merely to return us to the pre-Roe v Wade era, they want to take us back to the 10th century."
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
HB1, approved by the Virginia House, mandates that fertilized human eggs are persons with all rights under the Virginia constitution. When presented with an amendment by Delegate Vivian Watts declaring that nothing in HB1 would be construed to affect legal contraception, the members of the Virginia house voted not to consider her amendment by a vote of 64-34. To me, this vote by House legislators is a clear indication that the Republicans in Virginia intend to ban birth control, IUDs and emergency contraception. Do not be persuaded by statements to the contrary by those Republicans currently running for office. Once a fertilized egg is a person, anything that inhibits it from implanting will be illegal in Virginia and that includes …
Aalliiee Marie
1:02 pm on Sunday, February 26, 2012
I've voiced my opinions on many issues on this site, but none have made me feel as upset, violated, and infuriated, as these two bills that the Conservatives aim to push through the system. I have always been and always will be a huge feminist and adamantly Pro-Choice, but up until this point, I've also stayed out of debates such as these. But under the circumstances, I will stay silent no more. … more ›