#kathy tran

[profeminist]

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CONGRATULATIONS DELEGATE KATHY TRAN!!!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Trump promotes notorious abortion lies in his State of the Union speech

The president parroted one of the anti-choice movement's favorite talking points: that later abortions 'rip babies from mothers.'

Amanda Michelle Gomez at ThinkProgress: 

In an attempt to rile up conservatives, President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to repeat abortion opponents’ latest lie.

Indeed, the president mischaracterized two abortion bills in Virginia and New York during his speech to a joint session of Congress. The bills codify rights already established in Roe v. Wade. The New York bill was signed into law on the 46th anniversary of the landmark abortion rights case, while the Virginia bill has so far failed to leave a key legislative committee.

“Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth,” Trump falsely claimed Tuesday evening in his State of the Union address. “These are living, feeling, beautiful, babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world. And then, we had the case of the Governor of Virginia where he stated he would execute a baby after birth,” the president said.

The Virginia bill modestly loosens restrictions after the second trimester, saying only one provider, not three, needs to approve third-trimester abortions in specific circumstances. The New York bill, alternatively, removes abortion from the state’s criminal code and codifies access in a new section of the Public Health Law.

“To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb,” the president added.

His misleading statements are part of a pattern of recent misinformation about the bills: They were the subject of a false splice video of the Virginia’s bill sponsor, Del. Kathy Tran (D), that went viral last week. She’s since received racist, threatening messages. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was also asked about the bill in a radio interview and his confusing, inaccurate response only further emboldened conservatives; Northam said after a failed abortion, “the infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” His baffling explanation underscores a lot of lawmakers unfamiliarity with later abortions.

The bills codify abortion rights within their respective states, because the president appointed two Supreme Court justices who are likely to roll back federal abortion rights established in Roe. Roe protects the right to later abortions (or after fetal viability) in narrow circumstances, saying states may not prohibit abortions “necessary to preserve the life or health” of the pregnant person.

[...]

The mischaracterizations are just that, and patients who have had abortions later in pregnancy said as much in a letter released on Tuesday, ahead of the president’s remarks.

“Later abortions stories are often ones of tragedy and loss. For others they are stories of relief. They feature struggles with hope, women betrayed by their bodies and the incredible complexity of pregnancy. Many stories are ones of overcoming the many obstacles and restrictions our states have placed on these procedures,” the letter says.

“We are not monsters. We are your family, your neighbors, someone you love. We are you, just in different circumstances. Due to ignorance, many of us may not have supported later abortion access before facing a crisis ourselves, accepting restrictions on healthcare we never imagined needing.”

At the #SOTU this evening, Trump promoted numerous anti-choice lies about abortion, such as falsely claiming that NY's #RHA and VA's #HB2491 allow a "baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth." He urged Congress to ban "late-term abortions," aka 2nd and/or 3rd trimester abortions or roughly around 20 weeks.

And as a reminder, the decision whether or not to obtain an abortion shall be between the pregnant person and the doctor, not by the government or any other entity!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Right-wing media’s extreme anti-abortion rhetoric could mean more people get hurt and/or killed

Julie Tulbert at MMFA: 

Right-wing media’s self-created scandal around recent efforts by state Democratic lawmakers to protect abortion access is already producing anti-abortion threats. Given past incidents in which inaccurate and extremist rhetoric about abortion inspired anti-abortion violence and harassment, these right-wing outlets and figures are creating a dangerous environment for pro-choice advocates and fueling further discontent -- with potentially deadly consequences.

On January 22, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed the Reproductive Health Act, changing a pre-Roe v. Wade state law that criminalized abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy to now allow abortions “when the fetus is not viable” or when there is a risk to the health of the pregnant person. Legislators in Virginia also introduced(and have since tabled) a bill in January that would eliminate some restrictions on abortion care, including reducing the number of doctors required to consent for a patient’s third-trimester abortion from three to one -- removing a medically unnecessary barrier to access.

Right-wing media responded to the measures with an avalanche of inaccurate coverage and extreme rhetoric, including saying that abortions later in pregnancy are “murders” and that Democrats were endorsing “infanticide.” According to a Media Matters analysis, Fox News alone used the word “infanticide” at least 35 times during discussion of these state measures between January 24 and noon on January 31. To be clear, the claim that these measures promote “infanticide” has no basis in reality. Abortions that take place later in pregnancy are extremely rare and often performed for medical necessity or due to access barriers created by anti-choice politicians. Right-wing media’s characterization of these abortion procedures as happening “at birth” -- or in some cases, allegedly after -- is simply wrong; according to medical professionals, such a scenario “does not occur.”

[usafeaturesmedia]

Tone deaf: Dem delegate in Virginia who proposed late term abortion bill praised parents who saved her as a baby fleeing Vietnam

Tone deaf: Dem delegate in Virginia who proposed late term abortion bill praised parents who saved her as a baby fleeing Vietnam

In what appears to be a classic case of terminal tone deafness, the Democratic Virginia assemblywoman who is proposing an up-to-birth abortion bill actually praised her parents on Twitter for saving her from death in communist Vietnam as a baby.

“In 1979, my parents & I fled Vietnam as boat refugees,” Del. Kathy Tran said in the Tweet that she originally made on Dec. 13, 2018.

“My dad was a…

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[beardedbiblethumper]

Catholics/Christians MUST STOP Voting for Democrats

#Catholics / #Christians MUST STOP Voting for #Democrats #Prolife #AntiAbortoin #AbortionisMurder #ShoutYourAbortion #SilenceNoMore #ProChoice #BabyMurder #FridayFeeling #ItsNotUpForDebate #AbortionUpToBirth #AbortionIsMurder

Trump: Democrats are ‘becoming the party of late term abortion’

January 31, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – President Donald Trump has weighed in on the uproar over a radical pro-abortion law briefly introduced in Virginia, declaring that it reflects the current values of the broader Democrat Party.

“Democrats are becoming the Party of late term abortion, high taxes, Open Borders and Crime!” the…

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[justinspoliticalcorner]

Right-wing media are flat-out lying about later abortions being "infanticide"

Democratic legislators propose measures to protect abortion rights Democrats have recently pushed measures at the state level to protect or expand abortion access.

Courtney Hagle, Grace Bennett, Nick Fernandez, and Julie Tulbert at MMFA:

Democrats have recently pushed measures at the state level to protect or expand abortion access. On January 22, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act, changing a pre-Roe v. Wadestate law that criminalized abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy to now allow abortions “when the fetus is not viable or a woman’s health is at risk” with the consent of a doctor. Legislators in Virginia also introduced a bill in January that would protect abortion rights by eliminating some restrictions on abortion care, including one currently requiring three doctors to consent for a patient’s third-trimester abortion. (On January 29, a video of the bill’s Democratic sponsor discussing the legislation went viral among right-wing media circles.) In addition, legislators in Rhode Island have introduced two bills that would protect abortion access to the point of viability. [New York magazine, 1/23/19; The Post-Standard, 1/22/19; Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/30/19; WPRI.com, 1/29/19]

Despite the right-wing media’s portrayal, these bills do not allow “infanticide.” As Forbes’ Tara Haelle explained in 2016, people who need later abortions “are seeking them before a pregnancy reaches full term but often and unfortunately after they have discovered in the second or third trimester some problem with the fetus or danger to the mother.” Later abortions, although often medically necessary, are extremely rare: Slightly more than 1 percent of all abortions are performed past the 21-week mark. [The New York Times, 10/20/16; Media Matters, 1/29/19 1/30/19, 1/30/19; Forbes, 10/20/16; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed 1/31/19]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dear anti-choicers: No, the Democrats did NOT legalize infanticide in Virginia

Virginia Democrats did not actually try to legalize infanticide, but Republicans in the state claim otherwise.

Sarah Jones at NYMag’s Daily Intelligencer:

Google Virginia delegate Kathy Tran, and you might think she’s a monster. Right-wing websites dominate the results, and they all riff on a common theme: the freshman Democratic lawmaker is down with infanticide, and so is the state’s Democratic governor, Ralph Northam. “WATCH: VA Democrats Propose Bill Allowing Abortion Up Until Moment Of Birth,” shouts one representative headline from The Daily Wire.

Did Tran Actually Propose Infanticide?

Tran did introduce a bill that would have loosened several restrictions on access to late-term abortion. And in a clip circulated by the Virginia GOP, Tran does appear to suggest that the bill would permit abortions up until the point of birth. “My bill would allow that, yes,” she said in response to House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, a Republican. Gilbert had asked the lawmaker if her bill would allow a woman who’d received medical approval for a late-term abortion to under the go procedure as she’s dilating. Tran’s misstep has fueled right-wing outrage for two days now. On Wednesday, Northam waded into the fray. “I wasn’t there … and I certainly can’t speak for Delegate Tran, but … first thing I would say is: This is why decisions such as this should be made by providers — physicians and the mothers and fathers that are involved,” he said, in response to a question from press. Northam, who is a physician, went on to note that third-term abortions are performed for medical reasons or because a fetus isn’t viable. But as the Washington Post reported earlier on Wednesday, Republicans condemned the governor for his remarks anyway.

I never thought I would see the day America had government officials who openly support legal infanticide. https://t.co/VzM4FPO7QT

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio)

January 30, 2019

What Would the Bill Change?

Tran’s bill wasn’t as salacious as its detractors insist. It would have reduced the number of doctors required to sign off on a third-term abortion from three to one, and it would have allowed that physician to approve a late-term abortion for any medical reason, including harm to a woman’s mental health. This provision would have altered the state’s existing statute, which currently allows a team of three physicians to approve third-term abortions for women whose health would be “substantially and irredeemably” harmed by continuing their pregnancies. The bill would have also allowed second-term abortions to be performed outside licensed hospitals, in facilities like clinics. A House subcommittee rejected the bill, but if it had become law it would not have licensed Virginia physicians to perform abortions as a fetus enters the birth canal. Tran’s bill resembles New York’s Reproductive Health Act in that it expands access to later-term abortions, but partial-birth abortion, or “born-alive abortion,” as GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called in a tweet, is already illegal. RHA didn’t legalize it, and neither would Tran’s bill.

Since this probably won’t be the last we see of that Kathy Tran abortion clip, here’s what her bill actually does. Third-trimester abortion is already legal in Virginia when the mother’s life or health is at risk. The bill loosens those restrictions. It doesnt say anything goes pic.twitter.com/WQjVUJZUt1

— Graham Moomaw (@gmoomaw)

January 30, 2019

Why Is This Even Controversial?

Tran has wandered into a familiar fever swamp. The idea that abortion providers tear apart full-term, viable babies about to breathe has animated the far right for a long time. It’s the stuff of pulp fiction, and the myth bears little resemblance to reality. In the U.S., most abortions are performed early in the first trimester. Second-term are rare and third term abortions are rarest of all, representing around one percent of all abortion performed in the U.S. Later abortions are usually performed because a woman’s health is at risk, or because of fetal non-viability. Nobody gets a third-term abortion for the hell of it. It’s an invasive, costly and sometimes physically painful process, and women who need these procedures are usually in emotional distress over the loss of a wanted pregnancy. “I did not ever doubt I was doing the right thing for her but that did not make it easier,” one American woman told The Guardian of her late-term abortion. That’s the sort of woman Tran’s bill would help. Her plight, however, doesn’t seem to inspire quite as much outrage from the right.