2019 Flashback: Defending Third-Trimester Abortion, Dem Gov. Northam Said Born Baby Could Be Left to Die

In a 2019 interview on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor,” Democrat Virginia Governor Ralph Northam explained how a post-birth abortion would proceed, while discussing his support for a proposed bill to allow abortions–up to the moment of birth.

In response to a question about the third-trimester abortion bill, then-Governor Northam said that a baby born alive could be “kept comfortable” and then “resuscitated – if that’s what the mother and the family desired” – the implication being that the baby could be left to die, if the family decided they did not want to keep their child:

“There are, you know, when we talk about third trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of, obviously, the mother, with the consent of the physicians – more than one physician, by the way – and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that’s non-viable.

“In this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen: The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. 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.”

“We want the government not to be involved in these types of decisions,” Northam continued. “We want the decision to be made by the mothers and their providers, and this is why, Julie, that legislators, most of whom are men, by the way, shouldn’t be telling a woman what she should and shouldn’t be doing with her body.”

Gov. Northam’s comments immediately made national headlines and drew outrage from those outside the pro-abortion community.

The head of the Catholic diocese for Northern Virginia, Bishop Michael Burbidge, denounced the “extreme abortion” proposal and described the governor’s views as bordering on “infanticide.” “Our governor, however, may be willing to cross that border and go even farther,” the bishop warned.

“If we can accept infanticide as a viable position, our civilization is finished,” Media Research Center (MRC) President Brent Bozell wrote in his commentary, “How Is Abortion After Birth Not News?”

The day after his scandalous comment, Gov. Northam refused to back off from his stance, as CNSNews.com Editor-in-Chief reported in his piece, “Virginia Governor Says He Doesn’t Regret What He Said–or Way He Said It—About Letting Born Baby Die”:

“Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, who is a pediatric neurologist, said in a press conference on Thursday that he does not regret what he said yesterday about letting a born baby die or the way he said it.

“‘Do you regret what you said yesterday or the way you said it?’ a reporter asked Northam.

“‘No I don’t,’ Northam responded.”

A transcript of Gov. Northam’s full comment about the third-trimester abortion bill proposed by Virginia Democrats is presented below:

“You know, I wasn’t there, Julie, and I certainly can’t speak for Delegate Tran, but I will tell you, one, the 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, that are involved.

“There are, you know, when we talk about third trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of, obviously, the mother, with the consent of the physicians – more than one physician, by the way – and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that’s non-viable.

“So, in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. 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.

“So, so, I think this was really blown out of proportion, but, again, we want the government not to be involved in these types of decisions. We want the decision to be made by the mothers and their providers, and, and this is why, Julie, that legislators, most of whom are men, by the way, shouldn’t be telling a woman what she should and shouldn’t be doing with her body.”

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