Virginia Women Prevail After 22 Year-Long Wait.(Brief Article)

On October 1, a battle that raged for 22 years officially ended in victory. Women in Virginia contemplating an abortion will now finally have a chance to know what they are proposing to do, to whom, and be made aware that there are alternatives.

Virginia's "Woman's Right to Know--Informed Consent" law requires that at least 24 hours before an abortion, a woman be told the probable gestational age of the baby; be given a full medical explanation of the nature, benefits, and risks of and alternatives to the proposed procedures; instructed that she may withdraw her consent at any time prior to the procedure; and be offered an opportunity to speak to the physician who is to perform the abortion to answer her questions.

In addition, she must be offered the opportunity to review printed materials to be published by the Virginia Department of Health giving detailed information on alternatives to abortion, on scientifically accurate medical facts about the development of her unborn child, and on commonly employed abortion procedures.

Stubborn, entrenched opposition foiled passage of the law over and over again. However, on its fifth try, the measure passed earlier this year by large margins in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate. The bill's chief patrons were pro-life Delegate Robert F. McDonnell (R) and pro-life former state Sen. Randy Forbes (R), who subsequently was elected to Congress. McDonnell ...