Obenshain’s anti-Planned Parenthood bill fails
Brent Finnegan -- February 8th, 2008
Sen. Mark Obenshain’s SB542, which was drafted “to prohibit any group providing abortions from also providing information or course materials on human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases” in schools, was mentioned in today’s DNR article about tolls on 81. SB542 was killed in the State Senate yesterday, along with two other abortion-related bills.
The Roanoke Times reports:
Its sponsor, Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, said it was intended to keep Planned Parenthood from offering abortions through schools. [Jessica] Honke [director of public policy for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia] said the group does not offer abortions and is restricted from even talking about them in schools.
“I want to make it clear if we’re bringing Planned Parenthood into our schools, that they’re not to be providing abortion services,” Obenshain said.
Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax County, said SB 542 seemed to be “a bill in search of a problem.”
Vogel, Obenshain and Smith’s bills were each killed by party-line votes.
Del. Matt Lohr’s HB894 — designed to further regulate abortion clinics — has passed the House. It is currently in Senate committee, awaiting a vote.
From the AP story:
Senator Mark Obenshain’s bill to prohibit school divisions and their employees from performing abortions. While he acknowledged no schools perform abortions, Obenshain said it wouldn’t hurt to make it a law.
Now, that’s a bill in search of a problem.
Obenshain also proposed making it illegal for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster to become Virginia residents.
“Obenshain also proposed making it illegal for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster to become Virginia residents.”
Actually, I think the bill only denied them in-state tuition rates.
Why is it that males are so concerned about women having abortions?
Because it’s murder Dave. Females should have the same concern.
Myron, If that’s the case then your tube socks could attest to a holocaust :)!
“But some Valley restaurants and bar owners say they’ve already moved ahead with limiting smoking in their establishments after receiving complaints from nonsmoking customers. Other business owners, however, say the bans are a violation of smokers’ rights.
Del. Matt Lohr, R-Broadway, said business owners should have the right to impose bans if they choose, but the government shouldn’t make the decision for them.”
A quote from the DNR this morning, I think that we can all agree that we don’t need the government making decisions for our own bodies. The minute a child is born, I’ll fight for it. Until then, I dare not tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. In return I request that she not tell me the same about my own body. Simple
My socks don’t stink…..
“The minute a child is born, I’ll fight for it. Until then, I dare not tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. ”
i’m as tentatively prochoice as the next moderate conservative (largely just because i’m sick of it being a litmus test) but to act as if all of this is cut and dried is just…oh, i’m going to go out on a limb and say anti-intellectiual. to my understanding, the current restrictions on abortion increasingly limit the availability as the pregnancy progresses towards viability. seems reasonable. problem is that as medicine progresses, infants are able to live outside of their mothers at an ever earlier age. so, if we’re all ok with the way things currently are (i.e. no procedures after the end of the second trimester) and we’ve justfied this in roe by the viability or lack thereof of the fetus at this point in time, what do we do when modern medicine pushes viability back to 5 months? i don’t personally think we need to change anything at this point but i can see where it gets hairy in the future. and i get sick of all the keep your laws off my body drivel. that should be left to the libertarians, some of whom are intelligent enough to make a compelling (and logical) argument in that direction.
and i don’t have kids, but if i did i wouldn’t want them going to school with bigfoot or the loch ness monster