Pressure from Virginia pro-lifers is being credited for helping amend pro-choice legislation that would have repealed parental notification and allowed physician assistants to commit abortions. Senate Bill 733 is still dangerous legislation since it repeals the state’s ultrasound law and allows nurses to commit abortions, but the changes in the legislation show that pro-lifers can still make a difference when their state’s general assembly is a majority pro-choice.

According to Legiscan, the legislation,  “Expands who can perform first-trimester abortions to include any person jointly licensed by the Board of Medicine and Nursing as a nurse practitioner acting within such person’s scope of practice. The bill eliminates all of the procedures and processes, including the performance of an ultrasound, required to effect a pregnant woman’s informed written consent to the performance of an abortion; however, the bill does not change the requirement that a pregnant woman’s informed written consent first be obtained. The bill removes language classifying facilities that perform five or more first-trimester abortions per month as hospitals for the purpose of complying with regulations establishing minimum standards for hospitals.”

Titus Folks, the National Campaigns Advisor for Students for Life Action explains what happened:

“Pro-lifers should never give up, even when their state may seem to be dominated by pro-choice politicians. We all know that the Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, supports infanticide, but even Senate Bill 733 was too extreme for some pro-choice Democrats. We must always continue to put pressure on our elected officials and to make our voices heard.”

The legislation is awaiting a signature by Governor Ralph Northam.