PORTSMOUTH, Va (Reuters) – Virginia would halt taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income women in cases where the fetus is severely physically deformed or mentally deficient under Republican-backed legislation passed Friday by state lawmakers.
The House of Delegates voted 64-35 to strip the Board of Health of its ability to fund abortions for Medicaid recipients when a physician certifies that the fetus would be born with a “gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency.”
The measure comes amid a raft of conservative bills in the Virginia General Assembly, which shifted to the right following the 2011 general election.
Separate legislation backed by the state Senate on Wednesday would require women to be given an ultrasound and the chance to see the fetal image before an abortion is performed.
Legislation that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy was narrowly defeated in a Senate committee on Wednesday.
The Virginia Progressive Caucus said in a statement that the de-funding bill passed by the House on Friday lacked compassion and put government in the middle of a painful decision.
“When you are denying Medicaid funding for abortion, for some women you are denying their ability to get one,” Democratic Delegate Jennifer McClellan argued during the House debate.
But Republican