Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday that he has vetoed a bill which he said would have harmed Virginians by denying them access to affordable healthcare.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday that he has vetoed a bill which he said would have harmed Virginians by denying them access to affordable healthcare.
HB 1090, sponsored by Del. Benjamin L. Cline, R-Amerhest, aimed to prohibit “the Department of Health from spending any funds on an abortion that is not qualified for matching funds under the Medicaid program or providing any grants or other funds to any entity other than a licensed hospital that performs such abortions.”
Except in cases of rape, incest and life endangerment of the mother, abortion is not a Medicaid service in the Commonwealth.
The bill also aimed to prioritize “the types of entities that the Department of Health contract with or provide grants to for family planning services.”
In a release sent out following the veto, McAuliffe said HB 1090 was written to target Planned Parenthood, a provider of abortions and women’s health services, and it would have harmed “tens of thousands of Virginians who rely on the health care services and programs” by the controversial group.
“The fact is that Virginians, and particularly low-income Virginians, need more access to health care, not less,” said McAuliffe. “If Virginia takes federal dollars, then Virginia must abide by federal rules. As a stipulation of accepting federal family planning funding under Title X, Virginia must be fair in selecting which entities receive it.”
Both Virginia’s House and Senate okayed the bill earlier this GA session. Del. Cline defended the bill saying it would “defund Planned Parenthood and redirect funds to more comprehensive health care for women.”
McAuliffe has often pointed to traditionally conservative acts like shuttering Planned Parenthood or blocking protections for Virginia’s LGBTQs as something that could hurt the state’s future business interests, and today’s veto continues that concept.
“If we are going to build a new, more vibrant Virginia economy, we need to be opening up doors to quality, affordable health care, not closing them,” he said. “I have promised to stand in the way of any and all attempts to interfere with a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”
The Richmond-based conservative group The Family Foundation had applauded the GA’s passage of HB 1090, calling it a “significant victory for life.”
“There are still many hearts and minds to be won in the battle to protect the most innocent and vulnerable among us,” they wrote on a blog post in early March.
