Hey Virginia, remember Sen. Dick Black? You know, our favorite state Senator who as former Delegate became infamous for handing out plastic fetuses on the floor, dismissing the concept of marital rape and referring to contraception as "baby pesticides"? Well, he's back. And after his most recent comments, I doubt you'll forget him again.
This is nothing short of appalling. Not only are Senator Black's comments extremely offensive to my family and the families of the millions of people (yes - living, breathing, thinking, loving people) who were senselessly killed in the tragedy of the Holocaust, this sort of attack is part of a troubling and ever-expanding strategy to demonize the women of Virginia and the doctors who serve them.
Sen. Dick Black is not an outlier - not some sort of "bad apple" who happened to put his foot in his mouth. As is obvious after watching the Virginia General Assembly launch attack after attack on women's health, plenty of others in the Statehouse hold a similar disdain for a woman's right to choose when and whether to have children. In fact, there are undoubtedly those in Virginia's government who wouldn't hesitate to join the Senator in comparing reproductive health to mass genocide and trained physicians to murderers.
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia will not go back. We will not allow women to die without access to reproductive healthcare, and we will not allow lawmakers like Sen. Black to impose their dangerous ideals onto the women and families of the Commonwealth.
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