Roll Call: How your senator voted on guaranteeing abortion from conception to birth

By Rob Roper

Proposal 5, a right to personal reproductive liberty, passed in the State Senate on April 9, 2021 by a vote of 26-4.

Proposal 5 would amend the Vermont Constitution to say that “an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

Analysis: There is a concern that the United States Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade, in which case legal decisions about abortion will be left to the states. Those voting YES believe that unrestricted access to an abortion at any time during a pregnancy from conception to birth should be a constitutional right.

Those voting NO believe that the rights of an unborn child deserve at least some consideration under law, and that the language of this Amendment are too vague to be reliably enforced. For example, an amendment ostensibly designed to enshrine abortion rights doesn’t even include the word “abortion.”

Senate Journal, Friday, April 9, 2021. “Thereupon, the pending question, Shall the Senate concur in the adoption by the preceding General Assembly of Proposal 5 for the amendment of the Constitution of the State of Vermont, and request the concurrence of the House? was decided in the affirmative on roll call pursuant to Rule 83, Yeas, 26, Nays 4 (the necessary majority vote having been attained).” (Read the Journal p.472 – 473)

How They Voted

Becca Balint (D-Windham) – YES
Philip Baruth (D-Chittenden) – YES
Joseph Benning (R-Caledonia) – YES
Christopher Bray (D-Addison) – YES
Randy Brock (R-Franklin) – YES
Brian Campion (D-Bennington) – YES
Thomas Chittenden (D-Chittenden) – YES
Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor) – YES
Brian Collamore (R-Rutland) – NO
Ann Cummings (D-Washington) – YES
Ruth Hardy (D-Addison) – YES
Cheryl Hooker (D-Rutland) – YES
Russ Ingalls (R-Essex-Orleans) – NO
M. Jane Kitchel (D-Caledonia) – YES
Virginia Lyons (D-Chittenden) – YES
Mark MacDonald (D-Orange) – YES
Richard Mazza (D-Chittenden-Grand Isle) – NO
Richard McCormack (D-Windsor) – YES
Alice Nitka (D-Windsor District) – YES
Corey Parent (R-Franklin) – YES
Chris Pearson (P-Chittenden) – YES
Andrew Perchlik (D-Washington) – YES
Anthony Pollina (P/D-Washington) – YES
Kesha Ram (D-Chittenden) – YES
Richard Sears (D-Bennington) – YES
Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden) – YES
Robert Starr (D-Essex-Orleans) – NO
Joshua Terenzini (R-Rutland) – NO
Richard Westman (R-Lamoille) – YES
Jeanette White (D-Windham) – YES

Image courtesy of Public domain

12 thoughts on “Roll Call: How your senator voted on guaranteeing abortion from conception to birth

  1. SHAME
    Federal Government Caught Buying ‘Fresh’ Flesh Of Aborted Babies Who Could Have Survived As Preemies

    Americans should be outraged their government participates in the wide-scale human trafficking operation that created a market for harvesting the organs of murdered infants.

    Last week, legal accountability group Judicial Watch dropped a bombshell: a nearly 600-page report proving the U.S. government has been buying and trafficking “fresh” aborted baby body parts.
    https://thefederalist.com/2021/04/15/federal-government-caught-buying-fresh-flesh-of-aborted-babies-who-could-have-survived-as-preemies/

  2. So the esteemed Vermont Senate comprised of 23 dem/progs and 4 RINOs out of 30 senators believe abortion is a god given right for a parent to kill her child. Benning, Brock Westman and Parent may as well switch parties because we have only 3 republicans in the senate. I hope the voters out there are proud of themselves. This is nothing short of a disgrace to add these words to our constitution. These people couldn’t qualify to make dinner for the original writers who fought for the birth of our state. As a life long, born and raised Vermonter, I am disgusted.

  3. I used to be antiabortion but I finally realized that there is a certain amount of mothers who are genetically predisposed to kill their own children. If abortion is legally permitted, then their offspring who would possibly carry the same genetic predisposition would eventually be eliminated from the gene pool, therefore, genetically speaking they would self-abort and the issue would eventually become moot.

  4. Sorry, but from the moment of conception, the fetus is a human a live baby.
    ABORTION is murder.
    THEN to be able to kill a baby after delivery is also murder.
    If you didn’t want to get pregnant then take precautions. Have the baby and give it up for adoption. There are so many people out there who want a baby but can’t have one. Adoptions are way down, the waiting list is very high. Too many are taking the easy way out and killing the baby they are carrying.
    A baby is one of GOD’s children.

  5. All of these elected officials who voted for this should be ashamed of themselves and voted out of office. It straight up goes against the constitution of which they’re supposed to uphold.

    “The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”

    Pretty sure if you look at it from the baby’s perspective they didn’t get that God given right.

    In Vermont we terminate almost 20% of all pregnancies with abortions. I didn’t know what those numbers were that I until I just looked it up. It’s literally sickening to my stomach. That’s not even a high number in the United States, it’s average.
    https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/states/

    Also when you think about it for every baby aborted is another taxpayer gone and another person who could help fill our population problems in Vermont. These politicians (if that’s what you want to call baby murderers) would rather tear it down. Sick.

    Anyone else notice that the vote list at the bottom is actually 25-5? Does the author care to correct the article?

  6. Interesting topic.

    If we only expose this bill for what it truly is, how anti woman is truly is we needn’t do any work or fighting because the bill itself will eventually self destruct or be overturned by the supreme court.

    The NWO pimps have declared the items they would like everyone to fight over. 2 of them are racist, you are racist. And Women’s rights as they frame it.

    For the NWO pimps this is devilish perfect format keeping all Vermonters at each others throats and us nary finding common ground. Which is the true goal.

    Our constitution prohibits slavery. The open article 1st, All persons born free; their natural rights; slavery prohibited. It was a transitional document solving a problem. All persons are born free today. This is “click bait” for anyone with a sense of right or wrong a basic understanding of the english language. Their goal is we need to change this, many of us know this is non-sense and argue such, which is what they want. By opposing this you are racist. Your opposition is such to support their validation. We are told not to argue with fools. Don’t wrestle with pigs. It’s like a politician accusing another of sleeping with the barn animals , knowing he didn’t but just wanting to see him publically deny this. There is no wining, only for the NWO pimps. If they pass it they’ve done nothing but claim a huge victory. If they lose, it’s because of “racist republicans” (vs. people who can clearly understand slavery is not allowed in our state and it’s a wonderful thing to see witnesses as when we formed our own country (state)).

    Many are fighting vigorously against the claim of racism, very smart people. They are being played, severely. Passing this law only shows the lack of reading comprehension and the degradation of the importance our founding fathers did to abolish slavery. Please don’t fight the front they are calling you to, it’s a trap.

    This abortion is the same trap. Only the conservative, looking for truth will lose fighting this bill, no matter the outcome. The NWO pimps have everything to win, no way to lose. I am not suggesting anyone should vote for this, a huge difference than fighting.

    If it passes, not much changes in Vermont. In this case the NWO pimps will cry out victory for women’s rights. If it gets turned down they will scream “misogynist'” conservatives want to take away your freedoms. They are framing the conversation and fighting it is what they want, it creates division, hatred and fills their coffers with money. Power and money.

    What it truly is doing is taking the rights of every pregnant women and telling them, you do not have a baby. That is just tissue. THIS IS WHAT THE LAW TRULY SAYS! It can’t say anything else because you clearly can not abort a baby, at 8 months 22 days, this bill says what is in your womb is NOT a baby. Therefore, it does not warrant medical attention. It does not warrant any efforts let alone extra efforts to help this “thing survive”. You can eventually say good by to all the Neo natal intensive care wards! This is the most, inherently evil and corrupt legislation against ALL women to every cross our state. It denies women their right to have babies, cause this law states they are NOT babies. Eventually it will be overturned. It will be the bill if passed that overturns Roe V Wade. God does things differently, this may be his plan. who knows. Watching those who pass this bill be responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. Brings a smile to my face.

    So they want to fight on this. They want conservatives to use all their energy, fury, money, etc. to fight this, which no matter what we have not changed the landscape for Vermont babies in the womb. They have beat us again.

    We could fund sonograms, no person will not be torn about the topic viewing a child in their womb. We can offer better adoptions. We can offer better education. We can forgive those who have chosen this path in the past. We must. Can you imagine the guilt these woman face? Can you imagine the stress in making this choice when you are 16, no job, no relationship, no skills and EVERYBODY on the planet is telling you the right thing to do is have an abortion. Meanwhile these right wingers are calling you a baby killer?

    Forgiveness. Some might say we can’t forgive them of this. I say nay. They are truly not a follower of Christ, that is for sure. Jesus Christ has forgiven us all our sins, a perfect man, killed on a cross. God forgives us no matter what, we only have to ask. (we still have the consequences of our sin). He forgives us, we are to model him.

    Fighting is pride…it’s sayin “I’m right, your wrong.” We can’t fix an unplanned pregnancy, all the options are sub optimal. We can offer more options, be more loving and be more forgiving. (while we work toward making a law that is truth. The law doesn’t force us to commit a crime/sin)

    They want us fighting on these two fronts. They will win more votes, more money and defeat the Republican massively once again with lies.

    We can win with truth, love and compassion. Every baby, one at a time. Love is the answer.

    • I believe a women has rights, a right to use her brain!
      If you don’t want a baby, then use your choice of contraceptives. Why would you choose to have a babies leg or arm ripped off?? Or a sharp object
      pushed into the back of their neck. That movement
      Inside shows the baby is alive an well. Then you decide
      to stop the babies life because it not convenient for you. If you don’t want the baby then at least let some one adopt it. God is watching and hearing the cries of his precious babies! Judgement day is coming soon to America for allowing the murder of his babies.

      • While we have these rules, people who are concerned should make every effort to make the right choice easier for those to make. If we don’t do anything but fight, then have we really helped anyone? More importantly the baby?

        There is so much we can do.

        They want us fighting, not solving problems helping people make good choices. The division keeps people from throwing all these misguided people out of office.

        Abortion could be legal, and not happen in Vermont….they aren’t mutually exclusive activities.

    • Great piece, Neil.
      God Bless you, and all who have followed you on this.

      God will have the last word, someday. For it is written.

  7. Every time we empower the state to determine whose rights will be defended and whose will not, we have made the state more supreme in the lives of everyone. And we also have slid backwards into embracing the evils of human oppression.

    Giving the state such power is NOT a limited-government pro-liberty position. It is 100% the opposite.

    Please think about that and help those in your sphere understand it because deceitful politicians, like Socialist/Communist Bernie Sanders, have peddled the lie of abortion somehow limiting government power for a long time and lies said enough become a perceived truth.

    Take a close look. Many of these were expected, but this was not a party-line vote. Vermont continues to slide downhill. Why should you trust someone who has such disregard for this most basic human right?

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