Things in Virginia continued to heat up amid the fallout this week from a controversial abortion bill proposed by Democratic lawmakers.
Virginia Del. Dawn Adams has now issued an apology following the outcry over the Repeal Act, legislation that she con-sponsored with Del. Kathy Tran which seeks to loosen abortion restrictions by, among other things, allowing late-term abortions that could take place up to the moment a woman is in labor.
Tran came under fire earlier this week after video of her speaking about the bill allowing abortion up until birth was slammed as it went viral. Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam stepped into the mess as he commented on Tran’s bill while appearing to suggest leaving babies to die even after birth.
Va. Gov tries to ‘play victim’ after horrific ‘infanticide’ remarks, and wow, it does NOT go over well https://t.co/FmQhVxOvv3 pic.twitter.com/mS17VF0Y4h
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) January 31, 2019
In a letter to her constituents Wednesday, Adams not only admitted she “made a mistake” in co-sponsoring the controversial legislation, she revealed that she had not even read the bill before supporting it.
“I made a mistake, and all I know to do is to admit it, tell the truth, and let the chips fall where they may,” the nurse practitioner and freshman state legislator wrote, adding “I did not read a bill I agreed to co-patron and that wasn’t smart or typical. I will work harder and be better for it.”
Adams admitted that she “vaguely” remembered signing on to Tran’s bill and said she “did this in solidarity with my colleague and as a symbolic gesture for a woman’s right to choose.”
“I thought this bill sought to solely reverse the onerous additions to the code made in 2012 by HB462,” Adams explained, acknowledging that she “did not exercise due diligence before this explosion of attention.”
“Had I researched each line of removed language, I would have seen that, and known that there was more research to be done,” she said, noting that abortion after the onset of labor – as in Tran’s proposal – is “different” from late-term abortion and violates Virginia law.
Adams wrote:
In 2003, the definition of partial birth infanticide was added to the code which states that any person who knowingly performs partial birth infanticide and thereby kills a human infant is guilty of a Class 4 felony (§18.2-71)– this is consistent with what the questioner in the video was describing, and not the bill submitted by Delegate Tran. This remains a crime and would not be something any sane licensed physician would perform. The code is very specific and clear about what this means and it is different from an abortion, even late term. (bolding in original.)
Tran attempted to clarify her remarks on Thursday, claiming that that there was “misinformation” about her bill, HB 2491, which was defeated Tuesday by Republicans in the Virginia Assembly.
Efforts by the Democrats to walk back or clarify their remarks, as well as Adams’ apology, seemed to get as far as the four walls of their own offices. Social media users told the Virginia Delegate just what they thought of her letter and excuse for co-sponsoring the bill.
That we’re trusting them at all seems to be a problem. She’s a liar making excuses after getting caught. She knew damn well what was in that bill.
— Slackalope (@Slackalope) January 31, 2019
Reading bills closely? That’s kind of her job. She had ONE JOB!
— CBS (@ServisCB) January 31, 2019
What a very irresponsible lawmaker. Is this the kind of official that was elected into office? Negligence is not an acceptable excuse if it concerns a fate of life.
— mr.grey (@xeouse) January 31, 2019
That is equally as bad as sponsoring the bill. And that bill is one of the most disgusting pieces of legislation in the history of the country.
— Ward Farrell (@billboardward) January 31, 2019
“Lawmaker” ought to imply at least some involvement in the construction of the law, as opposed to just signing where you’re told to sign by the party…
— Art Buck (@RealtyisArt) January 31, 2019
That’s actually worse than having read it. Bills aren’t soup can labels ffs.
— DD (@UberDick) January 31, 2019
She seemed to understand it when she explained it.
— Sharon Graves (@kypaintster) January 31, 2019
“Don’t blame me for not doing my job.” Any lawmaker that admits to not reading legislation should be impeached and thrown out. It is literally their only job.
— Borbtheorb (@borbtheorb) January 31, 2019
You made a mistake? A mistake? You co-sponsored a proposal that would’ve allowed the murdering of birthed infants and now you’re backtracking? Shame on you! Shame on you for not doing due diligence to your alleged morality.
— Gus⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@westmassgenius) January 31, 2019
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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