Senate Democrats offered pro-women’s rights bills

At a press conference Wednesday, Democratic senators spoke against the Republican attack on women’s reproductive health, and offered new legislation to advance women’s rights in Virginia.

Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington) said, “Republicans appear poised to keep fighting to repeal the constitutionally protected rights of women and take us back to the dark ages. When will the war on women stop? Last year, we saw the medically unnecessary ultrasound bill and the TRAP regulations. This year, we already see bills to limit women’s access to health care choices — even denying women the right to access contraception.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Virginia has a proud tradition of protecting liberty, privacy, and equality. Women should not be denied this respect. We must all come together to fight for a more enlightened Virginia,” added Favola.

Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun & Fairfax) announced that he is introducing legislation to repeal the TRAP regulations passed by the General Assembly in 2011.

Herring said, “In 2011, the Republicans did real damage to Virginia’s women by passing burdensome regulations on health care centers that provide services to thousands of women across the Commonwealth.”

“Now that the damage is done, they say they don’t want to discuss these issues again.  Well, we don’t accept that. We are going to fight to fix what they have done,” continued Herring.

“At every opportunity, rather than helping the women of Virginia, Republicans used their legislative powers to make things more difficult and more expensive. It was legislating at the height of arrogance and condescension. It is everything that is wrong with politics today, where one Party’s righteousness of opinion was all that mattered to them and all other voices were shut out,” said Sen. Herring.

Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk) announced that he is introducing a bill to repeal the mandatory ultrasound regulations passed last year by the General Assembly.

Sen. Northam said, “Last year, a group of legislators, most of whom were men, passed legislation that forces women to have an unnecessary and expensive ultrasound prior to an elective procedure against the woman’s will and against the better judgment of her physician. We learned about transvaginal ultrasound on the floor of the Senate, and our state was embarrassed around the nation.”

“The last thing that we need in Richmond is legislators interfering with a woman’s personal medical decisions. I am introducing today legislation to repeal the ultrasound bill and allow sacred, personal decisions to be made between a woman and her physician,” Northam added.