Bill defining ‘birth control’ struck down
A proposal claiming birth control is not a form of abortion was defeated Tuesday in the House of Delegates Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.
Delegate Kristen Amundson, D-Mount Vernon ,sponsored the bill.
“There seems to be no shortage of ideas on how to restrict a woman’s reproductive rights,” Amundson said at a recent press conference.
A proposal claiming birth control is not a form of abortion was defeated Tuesday in the House of Delegates Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.
Delegate Kristen Amundson, D-Mount Vernon ,sponsored the bill.
“There seems to be no shortage of ideas on how to restrict a woman’s reproductive rights,” Amundson said at a recent press conference.
The bill would have defined birth control as “contraceptive methods approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”
Several Democratic delegates and senators backed the bill, along with representatives from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
Other bills that would affect abortion are moving through the General Assembly.
HB 1883, requiring abortion clinics to be licensed and meet the same requirements as ambulatory surgery centers, passed the Senate Education and Health Committee Thursday, after passing the House on Jan. 23.
Delegate Robert G. Marshall, R-Manassas, sponsored that bill, as well as HB 2124, which would ban abortion in Virginia if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Roe. v. Wade is the landmark decision that prevents states from completely outlawing abortion.
Another bill offered by Marshall, HB 2797, would extend “the right to enjoyment of life” guaranteed by the Virginia Constitution to born and “pre-born” human beings from the moment of fertilization.
Amundson’s defeated bill aimed to create clarity in the midst of an ongoing nationwide debate over when life begins.
Sold under brand name Plan B (also known as the “morning-after pill”), emergency contraception is a controversial form of birth control that has been approved by the FDA. It is a high-dose version of the same hormone found in other forms of birth control: levonorgestrel.
According to the FDA, Plan B prevents ovulation, fertilization and implantation. It is effective up to 72 hours after unprotected sexual intercourse.
If fertilization has already occurred, the pill will prevent the egg from attaching to the uterine wall. If ovulation, fertilization and implantation have already occurred, the pill will have no effect. Plan B cannot harm an established pregnancy.
Plan B is not the same as RU-486, or mifepristone, the drug that actually causes abortions or terminates a developing fetus attached to the uterine wall.
Plan B is currently sold statewide.
