Reproductive Choice & Family Planning
The Constitutional Right to freedom of reproductive choice must remain legal, and its exercise safe and rare. Prevention of unintended pregnancy should be a first priority, but the agonizing choice of whether to carry a pregnancy to term should be a private decision made by a woman in consultation with her family, her physician, and her religious and moral beliefs. I oppose efforts to erode the protections established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade but, as we do this, we can and should take other actions to reduce unintended pregnancies. Reducing the number of unintended pregnancies is a first step. Forty-nine percent of pregnancies are unintended; almost one-half of these are terminated by abortion.
Research indicates that 7 percent of American women who do not use contraceptives make up 53 percent of unintended pregnancies. And an estimated 13,000 abortions per year are by women who have been sexually assaulted. Specifically, I support legislation that:
- Requires health insurance plans which provide coverage for prescription medication to also cover prescription contraceptives. Something is amiss when more insurance companies cover Viagra than birth control, when these simple medications can prevent unintended pregnancies.
- Ensures access for women to emergency contraception.
- Increases access to quality prenatal services to improve women's health, lessens complications of pregnancy and improves the prospects for successful births.
- Increases incentives for adoption to give more options for women and families seeking alternatives to abortion.
- Requires schools to provide comprehensive and medically accurate information about how to prevent pregnancies from sexual assault, and which encourages youngsters to protect themselves from pregnancy and STDs in wide variety of ways, from abstinence to contraception.
During my time in the General Assembly, I have helped pass major revisions to the adoption statutes to provide children greater chances to join loving families. In addition, I have introduced legislation to further involve parents in family life education and have supported legislation (which did not pass) to ensure that birth control cannot be construed as an abortion. My past legislative initiatives can be viewed at legis.state.va.us.
