WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Mark Green, a physician, reacted to a bill in the Virginia House of Delegates that would allow abortions even when a mother in perfect physical health is in labor. He also condemned Virginia Governor Ralph Northam for endorsing infanticide.
“Like a scene from a science fiction movie, our elected officials are casually floating infanticide on the airwaves. Are we going to allow this affront to our civilization to happen unchecked? If so, we’ve lost our soul. I am appalled,” said Rep. Mark Green, M.D. “Killing a baby once born is infanticide. Plain and simple.”
Democratic delegate Kathy Tran acknowledged that her bill would allow abortion at the very end of pregnancy when a woman was in labor. That video is here. A transcript of the key exchange is here:
Gilbert: So how late in the third trimester could a physician perform an abortion if he indicated it would impair the mental health of the woman?
Tran: Or physical health.
Gilbert: Okay. I’m talking about mental health.
Tran: I mean, through the third trimester. The third trimester goes all the way up to 40 weeks.
Gilbert: So to the end of the third trimester?
Tran: Yes. I don’t think we have a limit in the bill.
Gilbert: So where it’s obvious that a woman is about to give birth, she has physical signs that she’s about give birth, would that still be a point at which she could still request an abortion if she was so certified? [pause] She’s dilating?
Tran: Mr. Chairman, you know, that would be a decision that the doctor, the physician, and the woman would make.
Gilbert: I understand that. I’m asking if your bill allows that.
Tran: My bill would allow that, yes.
Later, in an interview with WTOP-FM this morning, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam appeared to support Delegate Tran’s bill and even seemed to support abortion moments after birth. His remarks: “If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen… The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. 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 the mother.”
New polling released this month shows 63% of Americans would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. 92% of Republicans and 61% of Democrats want “significant restrictions” on abortion.
Rep. Green is previously on record stating that he believes “a child becomes a child at conception when a DNA is formed.” He recently announced his support for three pro-life pieces of legislation including the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
