(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Reproductive Freedom is a Winning Issue [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-09 If we’ve learned anything since the overturning of Roe V. Wade, via the Dobbs decision, reproductive freedom is a winning issue. The states of Kansas, Vermont, California, Michigan, and most recently Ohio, have all said no to abortion restrictions, not to mention the countless state and federal elections that have flipped to blue due to abortion rights being threatened. So when we look at the 140 seats on the ballot for the Virginia General Assembly this November, it’s going to be yet another test for abortion access. Most of us recognize abortion is a deeply personal topic, which is the reason we need to be less emotional and more fact-driven when we enter into these conversations. I think we need to first acknowledge the current law in Virginia as it pertains to abortion access. Abortions are only available through the 2nd trimester, and beyond that an abortion must be deemed medically necessary by a physician along with 2 additional consulting physicians. This is the law created by the Roe decision and the one that a majority of the nation and Virginians agree with. Yet, our governor insists his goal is to enact a “moderate” 15 week ban, while failing to mention that only 2.5% of all abortions in Virginia happen after 15 weeks and those abortions were deemed medically necessary. These are parents or families who wanted their pregnancy and who faced a life-altering and heartbreaking decision. Now, our governor and the Virginia GOP, including Delegate Batten, want to add bureaucratic red tape to the hands of healthcare providers, putting patients at risk of sepsis, hemorrhaging, the loss of reproductive organs, becoming comatose, or even death. This means a 15 week ban has zero impact on elective abortions and it begs the question, why is this a new campaign promise from the Republican party? Our “pro-life" Governor Glenn Youngkin has promised to sign any abortion ban that lands on his desk and this past General Assembly session, with 5 abortion bans introduced, showed us that VA Republican legislators are ready and willing to make that happen. We also know that while on the campaign trail for governor, Youngkin admitted in a recording that he had to avoid the abortion topic publicly because he “needed” the independent voters to win. He knew then it was a losing issue and he thinks using the word “consensus” will confuse voters about his stance and distract from the fact that a majority of Virginians support reproductive freedom. It’s also likely the same reason that Delegate Amanda Batten, currently running in the new 71st District, scrubbed her website of language about being “pro-life,” where she stated, “I will steadfastly support efforts to ensure Virginia protects…throughout all stages of life.” However, the evidence of this stance remains visible on her social media where she can be seen holding a sign exclaiming, “STOP Abortions Now” at a local rally. Currently, Virginia remains the only sanctuary state in the South for reproductive freedom and free of abortion bans on the books, but that is clearly in spite of Youngkin and his endorsed candidate, Amanda Batten. As the Democratic candidate for Delegate in this district, I know there are better ways to decrease abortions occurring in Virginia, and I recognize that we can do that through prevention and not control. Prevention looks like ensuring our youth have access to sexual educational resources, as well as providing free sexual education, healthcare screenings and contraceptives to the public, strengthening our social safety nets to alleviate financial barriers such as food insecurity, homelessness, lack of healthcare for families, and feeding the children in our public schools, who are already here. Educating others on the facts and data behind these tougher topics and having the ability to offer common sense solutions is one of many reasons I am running for office. We deserve and need transparency and honest responses from our government officials, and I promise to do just that as your Delegate. Help me flip the 71st district! secure.actblue.com/... [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/9/2192389/-Reproductive-Freedom-is-a-Winning-Issue Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/