One abortion curb fails, another advances

Social conservatives emboldened by Republican gains in the General Assembly in November suffered a major setback Thursday when a Senate committee deadlocked on a bill to prohibit women from having an abortion beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy.

But today, the House of Delegates appears ready to pass a bill to defund state-paid abortions for low-income women expecting a child with "gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency" after the chamber advanced the measure Thursday.

The vote was 7-7 on Senate Bill 637 sponsored by Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg. Republicans hold an 8-7 majority on the committee, but Sen. Harry B. Blevins, R-Chesapeake, abstained, deadlocking the measure.

After the vote, Blevins said he was moved by the wrenching testimony of Tara Schleifer, a mother from Haymarket in Prince William County. She tearfully described ending a pregnancy in its second trimester after learning the fetus had congenital heart and bowel defects that would translate to debilitating pain and suffering as a child.

"I would rather have died than do this to my baby," said Schleifer, who brought her 3-year-old son to the proceedings.

She said the bill prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks would give families virtually no time to decide whether they need more testing to determine the viability of the fetus.

"It was just traumatic for me to sit there and think about what that woman was going through and not give her any consideration," Blevins said.

The vote came after conflicting testimony over at what point during gestation a fetus can feel pain. The proposed 20-week limit was predicated on the assumption that fetuses can feel pain beyond 20 weeks, but other citations suggest that does not occur until at least 24 weeks, or roughly the beginning of the third trimester.

In Virginia, abortions are permitted up to a physician's determination of viability, typically 24 to 25 weeks at the end of the second trimester.

The tie vote, stalling the bill, is a blow for abortion opponents and Republicans who on Wednesday advanced legislation through the full Senate that would require women seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound.

"It is unfortunate that by one vote, pain-capable unborn children will continue to suffer the horrific death caused them by abortion," said Olivia Gans, president of the Virginia Society for Human Life.

Nebraska, Idaho, Oklahoma, Kansas and Alabama have "pain-capable" laws. Supporters have a version of the bill making its way through the House of Delegates, which could bring the issue back to the same Senate committee.

Women's rights advocates were encouraged by Thursday's committee vote on the bill, which they had termed unconstitutional and an invasion of a woman's right to privacy and choice.

"We are very pleased that the members of this committee recognized both how extreme and unconstitutional this legislation is as well as its potential impact on women's health," said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia.

The House of Delegates advanced House Bill 62, introduced by Del. Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania. The measure would repeal a section of state code authorizing the Board of Health to fund abortions in cases of gross incapacity and deformity for women on medical assistance.

The Virginia Department of Health approved funding of 23 abortions in fiscal 2010 with a total cost of $14,681, according to a fiscal impact statement attached to the bill. In fiscal 2011, the department approved funding for 10 abortions for a total cost of $2,784.

Cole said the bill conforms Virginia Medicaid law to federal law by incorporating the Hyde Amendment, a federal provision — named for former Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois — that bars the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions in circumstances other than rape, incest or threat to the mother's life.

Democrats argued against the measure for the impact it could have on women with no financial means.

"Think about the human beings behind this," said Del. Vivian E. Watts, D-Fairfax, pointing to the "tremendous burden borne by someone on Medicaid" if her child is born in such a condition.

"I'm sad to see that today we have no compassion for the poor," added Del. Charniele L. Herring, D-Alexandria, saying the bill would "cut the safety net for poor women."