Bills Under Consideration

The Virginia General Assembly is considering several bills involving abortion and pregnancy this year. Some of the proposals would:

- Prohibit forced or coerced abortions and make them a misdemeanor or a felony if committed by the father.

- Require clinics that perform abortions to be licensed by the state and to comply with the requirements for ambulatory surgery centers.

- Reinstate the ban on abortions except when the life of the woman is threatened. This would go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

- Charge a pregnant woman with a felony if she misuses controlled substances.

- Direct the state to study the reasons why women get abortions.

- Change the state feticide law, which makes the unlawful killing of a fetus by someone other than the woman a felony. Under the change, the woman carrying the fetus could be charged.

- Calls for parents to give consent before their children could receive contraceptives.

SOURCE: Virginia Legislative Information System