Virginia Democrats are divided over whether to make an 11th-hour push to strengthen abortion rights in the state as they prepare to hand over control of the Executive Mansion and state House to Republicans.
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Abortion rights activists and some House Democrats are calling for the General Assembly to gather in special session before Republicans assume the majority in the House of Delegates on Jan. 12 and Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) takes office three days later.
Virginia Republicans rise from the ashes while Democrats ponder what went wrong
Their goal is to codify Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, in state law.
“Let’s make it happen. We owe it to Virginia women!” Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William) tweeted Friday along with a warning that Youngkin and the high court “cannot be trusted to protect the right to an abortion.”
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Democratic leaders of the House of Delegates and state Senate have the power to call lawmakers back to Richmond with 48 hours notice because the General Assembly never formally adjourned a summertime special session called to allocate federal coronavirus funding and elect judges.
House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) has said she is willing to call her chamber back. But Senate Democrats have resisted what they see as a futile effort.
They see the tight time frame, narrowness of the Senate majority and existence of one antiabortion Democrat in that chamber as obstacles, particularly given that some Democrats will be out of the state or country on long-planned vacations over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
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Even some activists who had been pushing for the session acknowledged over the weekend that the window for action was quickly closing.
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Whatever the outcome, the effort has created friction between some House and Senate Democrats, and between abortion rights activists and some of their longtime Senate allies. Some Senate Democrats said they were floored by their portrayal late last week in a New York Times story about the special-session effort, headlined: “Protect Abortion Rights? Virginia Democrats’ Vacation Plans Get in the Way.”
“You’re pointing a finger at the wrong people,” said Sen. Mamie E. Locke (D-Hampton). “We’ve always been supportive and will continue to be.”
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Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw and Sen. Scott A. Surovell, both Democrats from Fairfax, said for the past two years, they’ve prepared or introduced similar legislation but were asked not to pursue it — by NARAL, an abortion rights group that is now pushing for the special session.
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“I had the bill drafted and they directed me not to introduce it — twice,” Surovell said. “The activist community said, ‘No, hit the brakes. Don’t do it.’ It’s awfully rich to hear that [criticism] coming from them now.”
Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, confirmed that for strategic reasons, she’d asked Saslaw and Surovell to abandon efforts to put Roe or something similar in the state code for the past two years, when Democrats enjoyed majorities in both chambers for the first time in a generation.
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At the time, she said, activists were more intent on rolling back restrictions that had made accessing abortion difficult, including requirements that women wait 24 hours and undergo an ultrasound before getting the procedure and that abortion clinics comply with hospital-style building standards.
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Keene said priorities have shifted since then, with the U.S. Supreme Court seemingly inclined to uphold a Mississippi law that would undermine Roe. Even some activists who saw that case coming had a sense that their rights would be secure in Virginia, which had turned solidly blue while President Donald Trump was in the White House.
Supreme Court seems inclined to uphold Mississippi abortion law that would undermine Roe v. Wade
But Republicans came roaring back to power in November, winning control of the Executive Mansion and House on a ticket led by Youngkin, who’d quietly promised during the campaign to go “on offense” against abortion if he won.
Video shows Glenn Youngkin saying he can’t fully discuss abortion or risk losing independent Virginia voters
“We wanted to do the practical things first,” Keene said. “And honestly, I don’t think any of us thought we’d be in this situation.”
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The idea to call legislators back to Richmond bubbled up to Keene the day after Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor and supporter of abortion rights, lost to Youngkin. Filler-Corn and some other House Democrats were interested, but Senate Democrats said they did not think all of their members could get back to Richmond.
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Democrats currently have a 55-45 majority in the House, but just a 21-19 edge in the Senate. What’s more, Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Richmond) describes himself as “pro-life.” He confirmed in an interview Saturday that he would not support codifying Roe, particularly not under the current circumstances.
“Show me a situation where one party tries to rush things through without [the opposing] party input, without transparency, without giving all sides the opportunity to weigh in,” he said. “It results in failure.”
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Even without Morrissey’s support, a bill could still pass the Senate on a 20-20 vote since Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) has the power to break ties. But the absence of even one Democrat would lead to defeat. So Democratic leaders said they weren’t interested, and Filler-Corn said there was no reason to call back the House without them.
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The plan seemed dead. But over the past week, a few House Democrats have tried to revive it by tweeting and rallying support from activists. The liberal group Network NOVA urged supporters to call and email Democrats.
“This [session] could be accomplished immediately since we are already in Special Session, but our Democratic leadership won’t take this bold step without a firm push by us,” the group said in a blast email.
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Del. Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax) was among those still pushing over the weekend.
“With a right that women have enjoyed for 50 years on the line, Virginia Democrats have the opportunity to act and we need to do that,” he said in an interview.
But the effort had not swayed Senate leaders, and Keene conceded on Saturday that time was running short. In addition to the 48 hours notice needed to call legislators back to the Capitol, it would take a minimum of five days to get a bill through the legislature, Locke said. It is possible for the legislature to move more quickly, but only when there is bipartisan support to clear certain procedural hoops.
“We certainly would be on board with doing something like this because there is a moment that is upon us that is critical,” Keene said. “We also understand that it may not be feasible at this point. But it doesn’t mean we will abandon our efforts to actually keep pushing to enshrine bodily autonomy in the code of Virginia. And we will do that in the General Assembly no matter who is in control.”