FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Fairfax County's top prosecutor is pushing back on Gov. Glenn Youngkin's proposed budget that would further limit abortions in Virginia.
In a video posted to his Twitter account, Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said, "I don't know what is happening at the General Assembly, but I do know one thing, as long as I am your Commonwealth's attorney, no woman in Fairfax County is going to be prosecuted for making her own healthcare decision."
It is not the first time Descano has taken such a firm stance on abortion rights. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, he said he refused to pursue criminal charges against a woman who gets an abortion.
Descano is doubling down on the issue after Gov. Youngkin proposed an amendment that allocates $50,000 towards establishing a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy for Virginia's 2023-2024 budget.
"The Governor has said he wants to look for bipartisan consensus on a bill to protect life after 15 weeks, with exceptions in the case of rape, incest or life of the mother," said Youngkin's spokesperson Macaulay Porter in a statement to WUSA9.
Porter says Democrats are deliberately misleading people by suggesting that the Governor plans to sign a bill that imprisons women who get an abortion. "That’s pure political posturing," said Porter adding, "There is a technical requirement to include any legislation that may expand a felony in the budget, even before it passes. And the democrats know this.”
Virginia allows abortions in the first and second trimesters which is about 26 weeks under current law. Abortions in the third trimester are allowed if the mother’s life or health is at serious risk, as certified by three doctors.
Youngkin's office did not provide a response to Descano's video.