"Dem Virginia Gov uses Good Friday to sign abortion bills"

Ralph Northam and his wife outside the executive mansion during “PRIDE Month” in 2018.

"In back-to-back actions on two of the holiest days in Christendom, the governor of Virginia signed into law two bills that will likely increase abortions and jeopardize religious liberty via new LGBT protections in the state.

In what has been described as a 'signing spree,' Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam raced to sign into law measures passed by the state legislature before the April 11 deadline.

On Good Friday, Northam signed the so-called 'Reproductive Health Protection Act,' loosening several protective restrictions for the preborn that had previously been enacted...

The legislation signed by the Governor repeals health and safety protections at abortion facilities, allows non-physicians to perform first-trimester abortions, and removes essential informed consent requirements, including the opportunity to view an ultrasound...

On Holy Saturday, Gov. Northam signed the 'Virginia Values Act,' which added sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law.

Progressive advocacy groups and some political observers applauded the move, claiming it will simply protect against dicrimination in public employment, housing and credit on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity...

'... laws that elevate sexual orientation and gender identity to protected classes have a proven record of undermining both fairness and freedom for all citizens,' warned Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Gregory S. Baylor in January....

'Whether they intend to or not, Virginia lawmakers who support sexual orientation and gender identity bills are choosing to coerce uniformity of thought and speech on beliefs about marriage, sex, and gender,' added Baylor.

'The Virginia Values Act just passed,' tweeted David Horowitz, founder and president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, 'makes criminal discrimination on the basis of ‘gender identity.’'

'In other words, if you don't think people with male genitalia should be using girls' bathrooms or competing in women's sports, you're a criminal,' he explained.

'The law stipulates that small businesses with fewer than 15 employees would have to abide by strict anti-discrimination laws that require the business to pay for the legal fees of a worker who wins a case, but the workers wouldn’t have to pay the employer’s legal fees if the employer wins the case,' warned Daily Signal contributer Jarrett Stepman in January.

'As lawyer Hans Bader wrote, this is a potentially enormous financial burden for a small business and could encourage frivolous lawsuits. It could do significant damage to Virginia’s economy,' said Stepman.

Gov. Northam’s signing of the Virginia Values Act came a month after he signed a bill outlawing 'conversion therapy' for anyone under age 18. While a counselor could encourage a young boy to try to 'become' a girl, the counselor would not be allowed to affirm the boy’s male identity.

Last year, Northam defended comments he made concerning a bill that not only would have allowed abortion up until the moment of birth, but doctors would have been able to refuse to resuscitate an infant born alive after a failed abortion 'if that’s what the mother and the family desire.'"