{"id":240501,"date":"2021-02-22T07:40:08","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T13:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=240501"},"modified":"2021-02-20T22:51:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T04:51:19","slug":"virginia-lawmakers-force-taxpayers-fund-abortion-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/virginia-lawmakers-force-taxpayers-fund-abortion-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia lawmakers vote to force taxpayers to fund abortions in state insurance plans"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly <\/span>have passed a bill overturning<\/span><\/a> Virginia\u2019s ban on taxpayer-funded abortions in plans offered on the state\u2019s health care exchange. If signed into law by the governor,\u00a0it will make Virginia the first southern state<\/a> to repeal the language that protects taxpayers from funding abortions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Existing Virginia law prevents abortion coverage from being required in insurance plans offered through the state, and dates back to the creation of the state\u2019s healthcare exchange in <\/span>2011<\/span><\/a>. The new pro-abortion bill will now go to Democratic Governor Ralph Northam\u2019s desk to be signed into law.<\/span><\/p>\n

Governor Northam, a pediatric neurologist and outspoken supporter of abortion who has made controversial <\/span>statements that some interpreted<\/span><\/a> as support for infanticide, is expected to sign the bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Northam has overseen the end of many of Virginia\u2019s previous protections for preborn children. In 2020, he signed a bill allowing nurses and physicians assistants to commit abortions, while removing safety regulations and the states\u2019s 24-hour waiting period from abortion businesses, <\/span>as Live Action News reported<\/span><\/a>. The bill was signed on Good Friday of that year, which the state\u2019s Cathoic bishops <\/span>decried<\/span><\/a> as \u201ca particular affront to all who profess the Gospel of life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Virginia gov signs bill removing abortion safety standards, claims it will \u2018make women and families safer\u2019<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pro-life leaders in Virginia reacted strongly to this most recent pro-abortion bill, which passed along party lines in both the Democratic-controlled House and Senate. The director of the Virginia Catholic Conference, Jeff Caruso, told <\/span>CNA<\/span><\/a>, \u201cVirginia should not subsidize abortion on demand with taxpayer funds.\u201d Caruso explained how the bill would pay for abortions: \u201cThe exchange is taxpayer-funded. Taxes pay for managing the exchange, and for subsidizing health plans in many cases.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Virginia Society for Human Life (VSHL) also <\/span>released a statement<\/span><\/a>: \u201cRegardless of their view on the legality of abortion, few people support using taxpayer money to pay for them. This is not a pro-life or pro-abortion issue. This is a question of how our taxes may be spent.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReplacing the current life-saving restrictions on abortion with a policy of abortion coverage without limits in our state exchange is drastic, dangerous and will result in the tragic end to more unborn lives,\u201d read a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> jointly released by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Barry C. Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. \u201cThough this bill has passed, advocacy against future threats to life and dignity is essential. Therefore, we encourage all to continue in the active participation of the faithful in our two dioceses in this advocacy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly have passed a bill overturning Virginia\u2019s ban on taxpayer-funded abortions in plans offered on the state\u2019s health care exchange. If signed into law by the governor,\u00a0it will make Virginia the first southern state to repeal the language that protects taxpayers from funding abortions. Existing Virginia law prevents abortion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":606,"featured_media":240510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3473,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nVirginia lawmakers vote to force taxpayers to fund abortions in state insurance plans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill overturning VA\u2019s ban on taxpayer-funded abortions in plans on the state\u2019s health care exchange.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/virginia-lawmakers-force-taxpayers-fund-abortion-insurance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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