Youngkin Doubles Down on Abortion Extremism

After his extreme abortion ban was defeated in the Virginia Senate, Glenn Youngkin took to TV to double down on his push to restrict reproductive rights for women in the commonwealth.

Youngkin is making clear that he’s not finished attacking reproductive rights in Virginia and that he’s planning to continue pushing for extreme restrictions.

DC News Now: “Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he was ‘frustrated’ with state Democrats after a swift rejection Thursday of his proposed 15-week ban on abortion. He said he wants to revisit the issue that both Democrats and Republicans agree on the state. In an exclusive interview with DC News Now, the first-term Republican governor who has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in two years said that.”

On top of restricting Virginia women’s access to abortion, Youngkin’s extreme abortion ban threatens doctors with up to 10 years of jail time and a potential $100,000 fine.

WRIC: “Under the legislation filed by Byron, physicians who perform or attempt to perform abortions after that threshold would face a Class 4 felony that carries a sentence of up to 10 years and a possible $100,000 fine.”

Youngkin has already signaled that he’s willing to go even further than this bill, saying he’d “happily and gleefully” sign “any bill” to restrict a woman’s ability to make her own health care decisions. 

Politico: “[Youngkin] has repeatedly pledged to sign a 15-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother should one ever make it to his desk. In December, he also proposed banning the state’s Medicaid program from covering abortion in cases of ‘incapacitating’ fetal deformities. Yet conservatives in the state are eager to go further.”

Washington Post: “‘Any bill that comes to my desk I will sign happily and gleefully in order to protect life,’ [Youngkin] said.”