VTDigger has published the first roll call vote analysis of the 2019 legislative session. The list shows how individual representatives voted on H.57, the abortion rights bill.
It is the first of a series of roll call votes VTDigger will publish this session on key legislation in the House and Senate.
Here is a link to VTDigger’s legislative guide, and a list of representatives and how they voted on the controversial abortion bill, H.57, that passed out of the House 106-36 in late February.
H.57 codifies the right to abortion in state law. A pro-abortion rights research group said the legislation would be the most expansive state law protecting reproductive rights in the U.S.
The bill was introduced on the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in late January and enjoyed broad support in the House. Pro-life activists questioned the scope of the legislation and whether it would legalize late-term abortions.
Bishop Christopher Coyne of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington criticized the bill, saying that it would “allow a child to be aborted right up to the moment of birth.” Advocates of reproductive choice and health care providers say that later term abortions are extremely rare and are performed only in medical emergencies.
Democrats unanimously supported the abortion rights bill when it passed out of the House on Feb. 21. The majority of Republicans voted against the measure.
Leading up to the final vote, Republican leadership said the caucus would oppose the abortion rights bill. GOP representatives said they preferred a compromise that would not legalize abortion after the second trimester — more closely resembling the language in the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
In the final roll call, however, four Republicans bucked the party line and joined colleagues across the aisle to support the legislation. Republican Reps. Scott Beck of St. Johnsbury, Francis “Topper” McFaun of Barre Town, Harvey Smith of New Haven, and Heidi Scheuermann of Stowe all supported H.57. Scheuermann was the only Republican woman to support the measure — the 10 other Republican women present for the vote opposed the bill. Rep. Marcia Martel, R-Waterford, was absent.
The bill was the first order of business for the House, where Democrats and Progressives together hold a supermajority. The legislation now heads to the Senate, which, in addition to an abortion rights bill, also plans on passing a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom.
Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint, D-Windham, says she thinks the Senate has the 20 votes needed to make the constitutional change. Balint said senators will take up H.57. after that vote.
