Vermont enacts pro-abortion law

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, signed a bill Monday that limits any opportunity for the state to safeguard unborn babies. The law, passed by the Democratic-majority legislature, prohibits any state or local government entity from taking action to protect unborn babies from abortion. “The state of Vermont recognizes the fundamental right of every individual who becomes pregnant to choose to carry a pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion,” the law states.

The Vermont Right to Life Committee called it a “far-reaching bill that would promote and protect abortion above other alternatives in our State. Any legislator who votes in favor of this bill is expressing their support of unrestricted abortion throughout pregnancy … and establishing a preference for abortion over childbirth in Vermont law.”

The state is also in the process of pushing an amendment to the state’s constitution that would make abortion a constitutional right. That proposal would have to be passed a second time in the state legislature in 2020 and then approved by referendum in 2022.