Column: Late-term abortion extremism on display in New York, Virginia

The issue of abortion is likely one of the biggest fault lines that divide Americans, but there is one aspect of this ongoing debate that is not controversial: According to a 2018 Gallup poll, only 28 percent of Americans believe that abortion should generally be legal in the second trimester. The poll found that only 13 percent of Americans believe that should be the case in the third trimester. Sadly, despite overwhelming national opposition, lawmakers’ late-term abortion extremism is on the rise.

On January 22, the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, ordered the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center – a national landmark and the gravesite of thousands of Americans who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks – lit up in celebratory pink lights to mark what was deemed a special occasion: the passage of legislation rolling back protections for unborn children in the second and third trimester. Governor Cuomo had just signed legislation to expand the legality of abortions after 24 weeks and up to birth, repealing a previous restriction on the procedure unless needed to save the life of the mother. The New York State Senate gave passage of the legislation a standing ovation.

In Virginia, Governor Ralph Northam last week defended a proposal that would also expand the legality of late-term abortions. Governor Northam was defending the law proposed in the Virginia House of Delegates that would legalize abortion at 40 weeks, allowing abortion at the end of the third trimester even to the point of birth. In his own word, Governor Northam, said during a radio interview on the topic: “When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physicians, more than one physician, by the way. And it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that’s non-viable. So in this particular example, 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.”

What exactly would the discussion entail while a baby is placed aside after being born alive?

The Virginia bill is so horrific that Del. Dawn Adams (D-Richmond), who had originally cosponsored the proposal, apologized to her constituents because she did not know at the time how far the proposal went.

The New York and Virginia laws represent an effort that would victimize the most vulnerable of all people. At the same time, Democrats in Congress are pushing to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which ensures that federal taxpayer dollars cannot be used to pay for abortions.

These laws and proposals to expand late-term abortion and taxpayer funding of abortion are out of step with our society and the value we place on the lives of unborn children. Governor Cuomo lit up Freedom Tower to celebrate late-term abortions and “shine a bright light forward for the rest of the nation to follow.”

Every person – even unborn people – has the right to life and liberty. This is a human rights issue. I reject the kind of extremism on display in New York and Virginia and will continue to work to protect the lives of unborn children.