Vermont GOP Gov. Signs Bill Denying Parental Right to Notification of Child’s Abortion

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, has signed a bill into law that declares abortion a “fundamental right” and denies parents a right to be notified if their daughter is seeking an abortion.

The denial of parental consent for a child seeking an abortion contrasts sharply with the state’s health code, which says non-prescription medication — such as ibuprofen — cannot be administered to a child in school without permission from a parent.

“Like many Vermonters, I have consistently supported a woman’s right to choose, which is why today I signed H.57 into law,” Scott said in a press statement. “This legislation affirms what is already allowable in Vermont – protecting reproductive rights and ensuring those decisions remain between a woman and her health care provider.”

An amendment known as Proposal 5 would also make Vermont the first state to enshrine abortion in its constitution. Proposal 5 would need approval again by the General Assembly in 2021–2022, and then by the state’s voters in 2022, in order to amend Vermont’s Constitution.

In addition to declaring abortion a “fundamental right,” the new law blocks state oversight of abortion clinics and removes protections for women seeking abortions, obstructing their ability to claim malpractice in the case of a failed or botched abortion.

The president of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England said Vermont is “the shining example for all other states” of the unlimited abortion legislation that has become a mark of left-wing states.

However, Dr. Ingrid Skop, chairman-elect of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), presented written testimony that warned the Vermont abortion bill “will remove any oversight from a late term abortion provider’s facilities or competency.”

Skop continued:

Vermont may feel it is helping women by passing this legislation that will allow a small trickle of women with severe fetal anomalies to receive late term abortions in the state. However, by opening this door, you will allow a tsunami of elective late terms abortions to follow, many of which will be obtained by coercion of the pregnant women.

The OB/GYN warned the state could “become a destination for ‘late term abortion tourism.’”

Vermont continues to shift further leftward as a recently proposed rule would also allow children and teens who claim to be transgender to obtain taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgeries without having to wait until they are 21 years old.