https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/what-northams-walk-back-really-means/
After a disastrous interview yesterday morning on WTOP radio, Virginia governor Ralph Northam attempted some damage control that somehow muddled the situation even further. That interview, of course, dealt with a bill proposed in Virginia that would significantly loosen the state’s limits on abortion in the last three months of pregnancy. The sponsor of the legislation, Kathy Tran, conceded during questioning that her bill could permit a woman to receive an abortion even during labor.
Asked about Tran’s bill and her comment, Northam offered some thoughts that ended up touching off a firestorm: “When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physician — more than one physician, by the way — and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that’s non-viable,” he said. This was objectionable enough, but the governor went on.
“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen,” Northam continued. “The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
For many observers, this sounded a bit too close to possible infanticide. After Northam’s interview became the subject of scrutiny, his spokesperson offered a statement on the governor’s remarks:
Republicans in Virginia and across the country are trying to play politics with women’s health, and that is exactly why these decisions belong between a woman and her physician, not legislators, most of whom are men.