Virginia Democrats plan to remove many abortion restrictions Republicans have supported

From Daily Press

The General Assembly is slated to vote on two bills this week that would loosen restrictions on abortion, something Democrats including Gov. Ralph Northam have made a priority now that they control the legislature and the governor’s office for the first time in decades.

The bills, sponsored by Sen. Jennifer McClellan and Del. Charniele Herring, would eliminate the requirement that a women get an ultrasound before an abortion to determine the fetus’ gestational age and wait 24 hours after the ultrasound to get the abortion. It would also eliminate the requirement that the woman be offered an ultrasound image and the opportunity to hear the fetal heartbeat.

The bill also allows licensed physician assistants and nurse practitioners — not just physicians — to perform the abortion, and eliminates the requirement that women sit through mandated counseling that opponents called “biased.”

Last year, a federal judge in Richmond upheld the law that says only physicians could perform first-trimester abortions

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