Virginia Women Prevail After 22 Year-Long Wait

By Dave Andrusko

On October 1, a battle that raged for 22 years officially ended in victory. Women in Virginia contemplating an abortion will now finally have a chance to know what they are proposing to do, to whom, and be made aware that there are alternatives.

Virginia's "Woman's Right to Know--Informed Consent" law requires that at least 24 hours before an abortion, a woman be told the probable gestational age of the baby; be given a full medical explanation of the nature, benefits, and risks of and alternatives to the proposed procedures; instructed that she may withdraw her consent at any time prior to the procedure; and be offered an opportunity to speak to the physician who is to perform the abortion to answer her questions.

In addition, she must be offered the opportunity to review printed materials to be published by the Virginia Department of Health giving detailed information on alternatives to abortion, on scientifically accurate medical facts about the development of her unborn child, and on commonly employed abortion procedures.

Stubborn, entrenched opposition foiled passage of the law over and over again. However, on its fifth try, the measure passed earlier this year by large margins in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate. The bill's chief patrons were pro-life Delegate Robert F. McDonnell (R) and pro-life former state Sen. Randy Forbes (R), who subsequently was elected to Congress. McDonnell said he crafted his bill to closely track a Pennsylvania law upheld by the United States Supreme Court in the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.

During Senate debate, Forbes asked, "Now who's against this bill?" the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. "The abortion clinics are against it and their lobbyists are against it, and it's just like the Casablanca movie: At the end of the movie, instead of rounding up the usual suspects, they round up the usual excuses."

Attempts were made on both the House and Senate floors to weaken the provisions and to remove the 24-hour waiting period. Thanks to a diligent and well-thought-out pro-life strategy, all attempts fell flat.

The tenacious fight over giving women medically accurate information began in Virginia in 1979. The first informed consent bill was proposed and passed but only after it was substantially weakened to only require the abortionist to tell a woman of medical risks, "if any," in her particular situation. Now, 22 years later, persistent, never-say-die determination has paid off.

"For all the rhetoric about 'choice,' pro-abortionists will do virtually anything to guarantee that a woman thinks she has only one option," said NRLC Executive director David N. O'Steen, Ph.D. "Congratulations to NRLC's state affiliate, the Virginia Society for Human Life, and the state of Virginia, for winning this important battle."