Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ellen Kane, of Richmond, who is executive director of the Vermont Catholic Community Foundation.
[A]s a female citizen of Vermont who voted for some of the elected officials now supporting H.57, I have questions that have yet to be sufficiently answered by the bill’s sponsors or adequately addressed by the media. Although I currently work for a religious organization, my questions about H.57 are not religious in nature. While it is fair to say the effect of H.57 would be absolute deregulation, it is unfair and inaccurate to suggest that the only “other side” in this debate is represented by the positions of organized religious or pro-life groups. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 81 percent of Americans believe third trimester abortions should be generally illegal. I have not seen any polling to indicate that Vermonters’ opinions differ from this overwhelming majority opinion.
H.57 would legalize abortion in all cases, for any reason, or for no reason, at any time for the full duration of a healthy pregnancy. H.57 supporters say it is urgent that we pass an abortion bill now because Roe v. Wade may be overturned. They argue the bill is necessary to “codify the existing abortion practices in Vermont over the last 40 years.” But Vermont has been operating under Roe, which recognizes a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion up until the point when the unborn life they carry becomes viable. The age of viability is when this unborn person can live outside the womb (often at beginning of the third trimester or even earlier with advances in medicine). Roe and subsequent decisions authorize the states to regulate abortions at any stage of pregnancy.
Although such specific data is not made publicly available, legislators supporting H.57 have informed me that third trimester abortions are not currently performed in Vermont unless the mother’s life is at risk. If this is in fact the current practice in Vermont, then why does H.57 remove all restrictions on abortion up until birth? It is misleading to say this bill codifies existing practices when it actually goes far beyond existing practices. The bill also makes it illegal for the state or any public entity to regulate, in any manner, those performing abortions. The state would be precluded from establishing basic health or financial safeguards for women having abortions. Beyond basic licensure requirements, under H.57 the organizations performing these surgical procedures could not be regulated in any way. This seems extreme and unprecedented. Do we offer this same immunity from regulation to other medical providers or businesses in Vermont?
While Vermont is apparently about to pass the most extreme abortion law in the world, so many critical questions remain unanswered by H.57 sponsors and unaddressed by the media. The citizens of Vermont deserve answers and a much more substantial, good faith consideration of all reasonable concerns prior to rushing forward with this radical bill.
