Delaware is one step closer to protecting abortion rights and other reproductive care in its state constitution after the senate passed Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 5 after a passionate discussion on March 11 at Legislative Hall in Dover.
The vote was 15-6, one more than the minimum two-thirds necessary for a constitutional amendment, and was along party lines.
The bill has been sent to the house of representatives, where it must pass with two-thirds of the vote. If that happens, the legislation would need to pass both houses in the next General Assembly, also by a two-thirds margin in both chambers.
The bill passed by the senate is an amended version of the original SB 5. Clarifications were made to the original text.
Two amendments, both proposed by Republican Sen. Bryant Richardson, were unsuccessful. The first would have required that an abortion provided to protect a woman’s mental health be indicated by both a healthcare professional and a mental health professional. The second amendment would have mandated that a woman seeking an abortion get a second doctor’s opinion. He acknowledged that there are conditions that would require an emergency procedure, but they are rare.
Richardson said the proposed amendment “will attract the worst of the worst to Delaware,” referring to noted abortionists LeRoy Carhart and Kermit Gosnell.
“What we’re doing with this amendment is we’re saying the unborn children are not being protected in our state,” he said.
Sen. David Wilson, a Republican, said he agreed with much of the language in the proposed amendment except for abortion. The bill, he argued, places the liberty of the woman over the greater good of the life they may bring into the world.
Another Republican, Sen. David Lawson, said the bill only looks at the issue from the woman’s perspective, although he acknowledged that she takes on most of the responsibility.
“We’re doing things that protect one-third of the equation,” he said.
Lawson said adoption is available for women who don’t want to raise a child. He also said there are plenty of protections for abortion in state law, and he didn’t see a need to put it into the constitution.
“Why are we doing this?” Lawson asked. “I think we can do a lot better.”
Townsend, as he did at the senate Health and Human Services Committee meeting earlier in March, said he believes reproductive care is a fundamental right that deserves the strongest protection. Delaware does not allow citizens to vote on constitutional amendments as many other states do, so it has to be done this way.
He also said an amendment will protect against shifting political winds both nationally and statewide. Townsend said he has seen issues influenced by a minority opinion.
“In any event, fundamentally we believe these are decisions that a woman should make for herself,” he said.
The house could consider the legislation at any time before the session ends on June 30.
