Tipsheet

HuffPost Is Surprised Pro-Life Governor Is Supporting Pro-Life Candidates

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  September 04, 2023 8:00 PM

The Virginia state elections this November will surely be the ones to watch. Republicans are looking to defend their majority in the House of Delegates and take back control of the state Senate. In 2021, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin was not only elected as the commonwealth's first Republican governor since 2009, he also helped flip control of the House of Delegates. He's now looking to expand those majorities as he supports statewide candidates running for both chambers,. While Youngkin has been a pro-life primary candidate, nominee, and governor, that he would support fellow pro-lifers has come as a surprise to the far left, pro-abortion HuffPost.

According to HuffPost's Alanna Vagianos, Youngkin's support for protecting life at 15-weeks--a stance he's consistently held--is something that puts him at odds him with being "a moderate candidate." It's also not news that he'd be funding these candidates, given the visible presence of his Spirit of Virginia PAC and his encouragement of early voting through the Secure Your Vote Virginia initiative.

As her report reads at one point, though, mentioning commonsense pro-life legislation that has nothing to do with gestational bans:

...Other candidates funded by Youngkin’s PAC include incumbent Del. Emily Brewer, who pledged to “100% support pro-life policy,” believes that life begins at conception, and has supported forced ultrasounds and pre-abortion counseling. Incumbent Tara Durant, who also believes life begins at conception and has vowed to enact anti-abortion legislation, received funding from Spirit of Virginia as well.

Youngkin’s PAC previously donated to two candidates running in competitive districts: Karen Greenhalgh and Kim Taylor, who are both running for reelection this year. As of August, Spirit of Virginia had only contributed funds to Greenhalgh’s and Taylor’s 2021 campaigns, donating $49,000 to Greenhalgh and $8,000 to Taylor.

Youngkin's support for 15-weeks in a purplish state is about finding "consensus," and polling shows that a majority of Americans, including Virginians, support protecting life at such a stage. At this point, the unborn child can feel pain, and the gruesome abortion procedure is also more dangerous for the mother at this point.

The governor expressed support for such legislation when Roe v. Wade was overturned in June of last year with the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Youngkin had also tasked the General Assembly with finding a consensus on the abortion issue.

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"Gov. Youngkin is looking to bring Virginians together to find consensus," Spirit of Virginia's Zack Roday is quoted as telling HuffPost. "He would like to protect life at 15 weeks with exceptions after 15 weeks for rape, incest, and life of the mother. This is a reasonable approach to a challenging issue, unlike the far-left extreme candidates who support abortion up until the moment of birth."

When it comes to these "far-left extreme candidates" that Roday mentions, state Democrats not only blocked a 15-week abortion limit, but also legislation that would mandate providing medical care to babies born alive from abortions. Former Gov. Ralph Northam, Youngkin's Democratic predecessor, infamously spoke about denying such babies medical care in January of 2019, but state Democrats more recently blocked such legislation as well.

State Democrats have also had tried to bring Virginia in the opposite direction, in that they pushed for a constitutional amendment that would legalize abortion for any point in pregnancy. 

Vagianos' piece does not mention such support for protecting life at such a stage, but rather goes with the pro-abortion talking point pushing support for allowing abortion past 15-weeks due to supposedly hard cases. As her piece mentions with particularly loaded language:

Just over 95% of abortions in Virginia take place before the 15-week point. But often, the people seeking abortions after 15 weeks are the most marginalized: They’re under 18, low-income and/or live in rural areas with barriers to care. Additionally, genetic testing for fatal fetal abnormalities often does not occur until 18 or 20 weeks, meaning a 15-week abortion ban would force people with wanted pregnancies who discover a fetal abnormality to seek necessary medical care outside of Virginia.

Even with a vast majority of estimated abortions taking place in Virginia before 15-weeks, that still means that 780 abortions took place past 15-weeks. This is going off of the 15,601 abortions that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated took place in Virginia in 2019,

In reality, women often obtain abortions late in pregnancy for logistical factors, such as because they didn't know they were pregnant or had a difficult time deciding or making arrangements. 

The first day of early, in-person voting takes place on Friday, September 22, 2023. The Secure Your Vote Virginia initiative capitalizes on previous successes that Youngkin had with early voting for his 2021 campaign.