A proposal to codify reproductive rights in the Delaware constitution had its first public airing on March 3 at Legislative Hall in Dover, and the issue brought out advocates for both sides. As of the afternoon of March 6, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee had not made a decision about whether to move the bill to the full senate.
Senate Bill 5 is a proposed constitutional amendment that gives individuals the right to make decisions “about all matters related to pregnancy,” including prenatal care, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management and infertility care. It allows the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability except when the life or physical or mental health of the mother is at risk.
Sen. Bryan Townsend is the primary sponsor. There are two other senate sponsors and five in the house of representatives, along with several co-sponsors in both houses.
At the Health and Human Services Committee meeting, senators from both parties and approximately 60 members of the public commented in person and virtually. Most of the members of the public who spoke were against Senate Bill 5.
Abortion is already legal under Delaware law. SB 5 “seeks to put into the constitution the framework that already exists under Delaware code,” Townsend explained.
Enshrining abortion in the state constitution would make it more difficult to remove those protections in the future should the political landscape change in Delaware. Amendments must pass two consecutive General Assemblies with at least two-thirds of the vote.
Republican Sen. Eric Buckson, who represents a Kent County district, wondered why SB 5 was necessary since abortion, in vitro fertilization and other procedures included in the bill are already legal. Townsend said he has been considering a constitutional amendment for several years as a way to solidify Delaware’s commitment to reproductive rights.
“We are trying to do everything we can to make these rights as foundational as possible,” Townsend said.
Buckson said Delaware is one of the most progressive states in the country when it comes to reproductive rights. The state includes abortion in Medicaid coverage. College students can get an abortion, and girls aged 16 and older can without parental consent, he said.
Sen. Bryant Richardson, a Republican from western Sussex County, argued that the bill says an individual’s rights cannot be infringed upon. Are the unborn not individuals, he asked.
“When we dehumanize the unborn, we dehumanize ourselves,” Richardson said. “I just think it’s atrocious to think we need to put this into our constitution.”
Republican Sen. Dave Lawson, from the Milford area, said Delaware law makes it easy to get an abortion, and everyone he knows who has had one regrets it at a later date.
“We’re killing our future,” he said.
Lawson also mentioned the desires of the father of a baby, which Buckson also mentioned.
“I’m up for a conversation with folks who are upset. We can talk about this difficult space,” Buckson said.
Among those testifying in support of the amendment were April Thomas Jones, the president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Delaware; Ceil Tilney of the League of Women Voters; and Susan Conaty-Buck, who spoke on behalf of the Delaware Coalition of Nurse Practitioners.
Thomas Jones said SB 5 would provide a vital protection at a time when these rights are under increasing threat across the country.
“States must take action,” she said. “Delaware will continue to be a beacon of progress and respect for reproductive rights in this region.”
Supporters of the proposed amendment, however, were far outnumbered by opponents, some of whom could not say everything they wanted within the two-minute limit. Among them were Moira Sheridan, the president of Delaware Right to Life, who called the bill “literal overkill.”
An abortion is already easier to obtain in the state “than bread at the supermarket,” she said.
Nandi Randolph, a policy analyst at the Delaware Family Policy Council, called SB 5 “a dangerous overreach, stripping away even the most fundamental oversight.” It could eliminate parental notification and prevent safeguards against irreversible procedures.
“We must build a culture of life, not destroy it,” she said.
The lobbyist for the Diocese of Wilmington, Joseph Fitzgerald, made a short statement to the committee. He said the Catholic Church’s opposition is well-known, and the Diocese of Wilmington urges the committee not to release the bill and to oppose it should it reach the full senate.
If the bill moves to the full senate, it would need a minimum of 14 votes to pass. The Democrats currently have a 15-6 advantage in that chamber. In the house, Democrats outnumber Republicans, 27-14, so at least one member of the GOP would have to vote for SB 5 if the rest of the votes are along party lines. The General Assembly meets three days a week from March 11-June 30 with some breaks.
