Va. Senate votes to scrap abortion law
Senate votes to scrap abortion ultrasound mandate
Senate Democrats casting mistaken votes on Tuesday blundered into passing a bill to repeal the abortion ultrasound mandate, even though the measure was all but dead going into Tuesday's session with two of their members opposing repeal.
The Senate vote for repeal is largely symbolic. Republicans hold two-thirds of the votes in the House of Delegates, which already has rejected bills to scrap the ultrasound requirement.
Had every senator voted the way they originally intended, the ultrasound repeal bill would have been defeated 21-19.
The first vote on Senate Bill 617 saw the measure defeated 22-18. Two anti-abortion Democrats, Sens. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William and Phillip P. Puckett, D-Russell, voted against the measure, but Sen. Linda T. “Toddy” Puller, D-Fairfax, mistakenly voted against it, offsetting the lone Republican vote for repeal cast by Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan.
A few minutes later Puller asked for senators to reconsider the tally so she could cast her vote for repeal -- a parliamentary prerogative only permitted to lawmakers who cast a vote on the prevailing side.
But this time, Colgan mistakenly cast his vote in favor of repeal. Along with Watkins' vote, the measure deadlocked 20-20, leaving the tie-breaker in the hands of Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who voted for the repeal bill.
Colgan later changed his vote for the record, but the bill he mistakenly supported will stand.
More at: http://www.dailyprogress.com/newsvirginian/news/virginia_politics/senate-votes-to-scrap-abortion-ultrasound-mandate/article_8e77d4b8-9394-11e3-8248-001a4bcf6878.html
Jamil Smith ✔ @JamilSmith
Virginia's Senate is now controlled by Dems. They just voted to repeal a forced-ultrasound law. Elections matter.
http://on.msnbc.com/1eSfdLv
8:08 PM - 11 Feb 2014
Found on the Obama Diary