"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," said Northam.
Northam, who is a pediatric neurologist, said that if it were decided to terminate a pregnancy while a mother was in labor, that the infant would be delivered and then "kept comfortable." Medical attention would be given to the infant "if that's what the mother and the family desired," he said, and "a discussion would ensue" between the woman and her doctor.
Northam said that he thought reaction to the bill was "really blown out of proportion." He also said that he was in favor of maintaining a state law that requires three physicians approve of a third-trimester abortion. Tran's bill would have stripped this requirement.
A statement from Northam's spokesperson on Wednesday accused Republicans of "trying to play politics with women's health," and said that the governor was referring to cases of fetal abnormality or a nonviable pregnancy.
"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 the statement. The statement did not clarify if "fetal abnormality" included entire classes of people, including those with Down Syndrome.
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A 2013 Guttmacher study found that "most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment," and instead were doing so because they had not realized they were pregnant or had previous trouble securing money or insurance coverage to pay for the abortion.
The debate over the proposal in Virginia comes amid a number of state-level measures aimed at bolstering abortion access.
Last week, New York passed an expansive new law removing previous limits and standards on abortions in the state.