RICHMOND Va. (WRIC) — Senate Democrats have passed a bill to protect women who come to Virginia for an abortion, as well as their doctors.
A bill sponsored by State Senator Barbara Favola (D-Arlington), which passed along party lines Monday, would prevent Virginia from extraditing women who come to the Commonwealth for an abortion from states in which the procedure is illegal.
“It protects an individual who comes to Virginia from a state that has a ban on abortion, and she receives an abortion in Virginia, it would protect her from extradition, and it also protects the doctors and providers that have performed that abortion,” Favola said.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) said the bill is needed to ensure that people in Virginia aren’t being punished in other states for helping someone access abortion services.
“Last year, the Attorney General of Alabama twice specifically said that he was open to bringing women from other states back to Alabama to be prosecuted,” Surovell said on the Senate floor.
Republican Senator Mark Peake, who voted against the bill, says he has concerns over language in the bill that allows someone to sign an affidavit saying they were in Virginia when they received an abortion. He says people could use that to avoid prosecution after receiving an abortion in a state where the procedure is banned.
“I just don’t think that an appropriate way for our criminal code or extradition code to have somebody just sign an affidavit and that be enough to create a presumption that has to be overcome by clear and convincing evidence,” Peake told 8News.
A similar measure in the House could be considered for final passage as early as tomorrow.
