Victoria Cobb, President
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Information Alert: Senate Kills Life Bills, Passes Threats to Family
If the past two days aren’t evidence enough that the state Senate must be changed, I honestly don’t know what is.
In a 24 hour period since yesterday’s noon session, the Senate of Virginia, where Democrats hold a slim 22-18 majority, has passed several bills that undermine the values of Virginia while defeating common sense measures that would reduce the number of abortions in Virginia while advancing a culture of life.
Yesterday, the Senate passed legislation adding sexual orientation to state government’s non-discrimination law (SB 747), a bill that state government agencies the ability to provide domestic partner benefits (SB 1122) and a proposal that is an attack on Virginia’s abstinence centered family life education policy (SB 967).
In this morning’s Senate Education and Health committee, five pro-life bills were defeated, including legislation that would have provided women seeking an abortion an opportunity to view an ultrasound (SB 1435), created wrongful death protections for the unborn (SB 1207 and SB 1378), criminalized the act of coercing someone to have an abortion (SB 1217). The committee also rejected a bill that would have prohibited health insurance companies that provide elective abortion coverage from participating in the exchanges required by President Obama’s federal health insurance scheme (SB 1202).
As in past years, the state Senate has proven to be a killing field for pro-family, pro-life legislation, as well as the source of bills that undermine Virginia’s values. The question now becomes, are pro-family Virginians finally tired of this? If so, in November of this year all 40 members of the state Senate will face reelection. Let’s face it – having the truth and the facts on our side, having a professional team of advocates to influence legislators, having a grassroots network across Virginia simply isn’t enough. We have to change the people who sit in that chamber.
This year is our opportunity to break through this barrier and change the future of Virginia. We need to add more CONSERVATIVE voices to the state Senate. When there was a Republican majority in the Senate in the past the outcome wasn’t much better. We need principled conservatives in office. The Family Foundation and The Family Foundation Action will do everything possible to ensure that Virginians know exactly what the stakes are and which candidates for office will stand with us – and which stand against us – this year as the elections approach. Please click here to learn more about our Ignite campaign and how you can help.
Please also know that there are several members of the Senate (15) that voted with The Family Foundation on every one of the bills (your was not one of them). We thank them for their stand on principle. We especially thank those Senators who carried pro-life legislation this year, including Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg), Ralph Smith (R-22, Roanoke) and Bill Stanley (R-19, Chatham).
