PETITION: Tell Virginia governor to retract outrageous statement allowing babies to die! Sign the petition here. VIRGINIA, January 30, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam suggested in comments this morning that a proposed bill allowing abortion up until the moment of birth would also allow doctors to refuse to resuscitate an infant born alive after a failed abortion "if that’s what the mother and the family desire." "This is pure infanticide," wrote Ben Shapiro in Daily Wire about Northam's comments. Northam, a former pediatric neurologist, was responding to a question on WTOP’s Ask The Governor about the controversy sparked yesterday during a statehouse hearing about the proposed bill. Del. Kathy Tran had defended the bill as allowing abortion for a woman who was already in the process of giving birth. Northam called the controversy “overblown.” He went on to explain what would happen in a situation of a woman wanting an abortion who was already in labor. "So in this particular example, if the 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 desire, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother,” he said. VA gov on abortion this morning: “If a mother is in labor...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 & mother" pic.twitter.com/cc15pVLjIQ — Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) January 30, 2019 Shapiro called Northam's proposal "pure evil." "Northam is specifically talking about delivering an infant alive and then asking the mother whether the infant should live or not. This is not an argument about the morning-after pill. It’s not an argument over whether a fetus feels pain. This is a statement that a fully-formed infant, born alive, ought to be murdered if the mother says the infant ought to be murdered," he wrote. In an exchange yesterday during a subcommittee hearing about the bill, the bill’s chief proponent admitted that the measure would permit aborting babies even as a mother had begun dilating. When asked, “How late in the third trimester could a physician perform an abortion?” delegate Kathy Tran, a Democrat from Northern Virginia replied, “through the third trimester," adding: " The third trimester goes all the way up to forty weeks.” “Where it’s obvious a woman is about to give birth?” asked the chairman of the subcommittee, Delegate Todd Gilbert. Even when “she has physical signs that she is about to give birth?” added Gilbert. “She’s dilating?” “My bill would allow that, yes,” responded Tran. Known as the Repeal Act, Virginia House Bill 2491 would eliminate current restrictions on late term abortions. “Following on the heels of New York’s radical expansion of abortion on demand, Delegate Tran’s bill reveals with alarming clarity what the modern Democratic Party stands for and their agenda for our nation – abortion on demand, up until the moment of delivery and even beyond,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a statement issued this morning. “This position is irreconcilable with the beliefs, values, and desires of the overwhelming majority of Americans,” she added.<doc-sep>Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is taking Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to task over his apparent support for “aborting” babies that have already been born. During a radio interview Wednesday, Northam defended the “Repeal Act,” a proposed bill that would remove all restrictions on abortion in the state of Virginia. The bill was defeated Tuesday. (RELATED: Virginia Governor Signs Bill Joining States In Expanding Medicaid Under Obamacare) “If a mother is in labor…the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable,” Northam said. “The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians & mother.” VA gov on abortion this morning: “If a mother is in labor…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 & mother” pic.twitter.com/cc15pVLjIQ — Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) January 30, 2019 Rubio fired back, expressing disbelief that a governor would support such measures. “I never thought I would see the day that America had government officials who openly support legal infanticide,” Rubio tweeted Wednesday afternoon. 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 Rubio wasn’t the only senator to express their horror at Northam’s comments. Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said in a statement to National Review that anyone who expresses such beliefs should “get the hell out of public office.” “This is morally repugnant,” Sasse said. “In just a few years pro-abortion zealots went from ‘safe, legal, and rare’ to ‘keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide.’ I don’t care what party you’re from — if you can’t say that it’s wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.” Northam is serving his lone term as governor of Virginia after defeating Republican Ed Gillespie in 2017. Abortion giant Planned Parenthood donated $3 million to Northam’s campaign. Follow William Davis on Twitter<doc-sep>A new proposal in Virginia that would loosen regulations on third-trimester abortion has been blasted by Fox News and Republicans who claim that the bill would allow women to kill their children after they have been born. The allegation is provably false, but continues to be spread by President Donald Trump's oldest son, elected officials and various media outlets. Virginia currently allows third-term abortions when a mother's life is at severe risk and if three doctors sign off. The bill, proposed by Virginia House Democrats, would require only one doctor's approval and omit the words "substantially and irremediably" when referring to the health risk posed to the mother. This week, Democratic delegate Kathy Tran said that the new rules would allow abortions up until the moments a woman gives birth. The bill was rejected. On Wednesday, Republicans began circulating a shortened clip of Virginia governor Ralph Northam appearing to say that an infant could be killed after birth. "If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen," said Northam in a radio interview. "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." The clip, however, left out a preamble where Northam clarified that this would only be done with a severely deformed, nonviable fetus, an infant that was stillborn or would die imminently. "No woman seeks a third trimester abortion, except in the case of tragic or difficult circumstances, such as a nonviable pregnancy or in the event of severe fetal abnormalities, and the governor's comments were limited to the actions physicians would take in the event that a woman in those circumstances went into labor," said Northam's spokesperson, Ofirah Yheskel, told The Washington Post. "Attempts to extrapolate these comments otherwise is in bad faith and underscores exactly why the governor believes physicians and women, not legislators, should make these difficult and deeply personal medical decisions." Still, Conservatives harped on the truncated clip. "This is insanity. Seems like advocating for Post Term Abortion AKA MURDER by any standard I'm aware of," wrote Donald Trump Jr. This is insanity. Seems like advocating for Post Term Abortion AKA MURDER by any standard I’m aware of. The only thing worse than what the Democrat Governor of VA said was the fact that there’s zero pushback from the host. https://t.co/MwRGyAecFT — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 30, 2019 "I never thought I would see the day America had government officials who openly support legal infanticide," wrote Republican Senator Marco Rubio. 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 About 65 percent of all abortions performed occur during the first eight weeks of gestation, and 91 percent are performed during the first 11 weeks. Only 1.4 percent of all legal abortions occur after 21 weeks gestation. Studies show that tough abortion laws lead to an increase in second and third-term abortions. There was a 27 percent increase in second-trimester abortions in Texas after the state closed clinics and increased wait times.<doc-sep>Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam couldn’t precisely answer whether he supports abortion until birth and suggested an infant could be born and then the mother and doctor could discuss what should happen next, in a Wednesday morning interview. “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,” Northam said in a WTOP interview. Aborting a baby after it has been born is illegal. His comments come after Democratic Virginia Delegate Kathy Tran introduced HB 2491, or the Repeal Act, in January. The legislation seeks to repeal the state’s current restrictions on late-term abortions. The bill would allow a doctor to perform an abortion when a woman is dilating, meaning she is about to give birth. WATCH: If passed, the measure will do away with the state’s requirement that second- and third-trimester abortions be performed only to preserve the health or life of the woman. A woman seeking to abort would no longer need to obtain an ultrasound before having an abortion, under the proposed law. Currently, three physicians must conclude that a third-trimester abortion is necessary to preserve the health or life of the woman. Those requirements are stripped under the proposed legislation, which also removes the state’s mandate that second- and third-trimester abortions be performed in hospitals. (RELATED: New York Passes Bill On Roe V Wade Anniversary Casting Abortion As A Woman’s Right) The Repeal Act saw its first subcommittee hearing Monday. WATCH: “Clearly, this kind of legislation is an attempt to create legal infanticide as viable babies are aborted to the cheers of abortion extremists,” Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins said in a statement. Seems to me Ralph Northam, the @GovernorVA needs to resign. Hard to come back from advocating infanticide. #NorthamResign. — Matt Sarelson (@MSarelson) January 30, 2019 Roe v. Wade gave women the right to abort up to the point of fetal “viability,” a term that continues to foster debate as neonatal care advances. Physicians generally point to between 22 and 24 weeks as the point at which a newborn baby can survive outside the womb. “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,” Northam also said in the interview. Seventy-five percent of Americans support significant abortion restrictions and say abortion should not be legal after a woman is three months pregnant, according to a Jan. 15 Marist poll. Nearly 60 percent of Americans support banning abortion after 20 weeks except to save the life of the mother, according to the poll. The average time from ovulation until birth is approximately 38 weeks. “No woman seeks a third trimester abortion except in the case of tragic or difficult circumstances … and the governor’s comments were limited to the actions physicians would take in the event that a woman in those circumstances went into labor,” Northam’s communication director, Ofirah Yheskel, said in an emailed statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Attempts to extrapolate these comments otherwise is in bad faith and underscores exactly why the governor believes physicians and women, not legislators, should make these difficult and deeply personal medical decisions,” Yheskel said. This post was updated with comment from Northam’s office. Follow Grace on Twitter. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. 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This morning on WTOP’s “Ask The Governor,” Virginia governor Ralph Northam defended the new abortion bill introduced by state Democrats this month, the Repeal Act, which would legalize abortion up to the point of birth. The interviewer brought up Monday’s committee hearing, during which Democratic delegate Kathy Tran, the chief sponsor of the bill, stated that her legislation would allow a woman to receive an abortion even while she was going into labor. The host then asked Northam whether he supports the bill and asked him to explain Tran’s comment. “This is why decisions such as this should be made by providers, physicians, and the mothers and fathers that are involved,” Northam said. “When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physician — 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.” Northam is either unaware of the specifics of the bill, or he’s lying about them. Tran’s legislation explicitly removes the current requirement that three physicians agree that a woman is in need of a late-term abortion. The new bill would require only the consent of the mother and of the physician performing the abortion. But he went on to say something even more heinous. “If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen,” he continued. “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.” He added that he thinks the furor over the bill and Tran’s comments “was really blown out of proportion.” Update 1:40 p.m.: Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) gave a statement to National Review this afternoon in response to Northam’s comments. Sasse is the author of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would impose penalties on physicians that refuse medical care to infants born alive in botched abortion procedures. “This is morally repugnant,” Sasse said of Northam’s comments. “In just a few years pro-abortion zealots went from ‘safe, legal, and rare’ to ‘keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide.’ I don’t care what party you’re from — if you can’t say that it’s wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.” Spokespersons for Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, have not yet responded to National Review’s request for comment on the bill. Update 3:50 p.m.: A spokesperson for Northam has released a statement appearing to walk back the Democratic governor’s comments from this morning’s appearance on WTOP: “No woman seeks a third trimester abortion except in the case of tragic or difficult circumstances, such as a nonviable pregnancy or in the event of severe fetal abnormalities, and the governor’s comments were limited to actions physicians would take in the event that a woman in those circumstances went into labor,” the statement read in part. “Attempts to extrapolate these comments otherwise is in bad faith and underscores exactly why the governor believes physicians and women, not legislators, should make these difficult and deeply personal medical decisions.” The full statement can be found here, and Jack Crowe has more details, too. Update 4:50 p.m.: Late this afternoon, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) called for the Senate to vote on Republican senator Lindsey Graham’s Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act — which bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific research suggesting that fetuses can begin to feel pain at that stage of development — in light of Northam’s comments in this morning’s interview. He also noted that the Democratic primary candidates for president should be asked about their stance on extreme abortion bills such as those in Virginia and New York. Watch the video here: