Right to Life
Jeff McWaters believes in the words of the Declaration of Independence—that the right to life is "unalienable"—and that it ought to be legally protected from conception to grave. He believes in the sanctity and uniqueness of each life. No human being is better than any other; all are entitled to equal and full protection under the law.
Including the lives of unborn children.
Including the lives of the frail, the dependent elderly, the handicapped and the terminally ill.
Jeff also believes that those interested in fostering a culture of life must show emotional, spiritual and physical support for mothers with unwanted pregnancies. We must take greater steps to care for the poorest and neediest children among us—showing that the commitment to life does not diminish once a baby leaves the mother’s womb.
As a practical matter, Jeff’s supports the following initiatives:
- Updating Virginia’s informed consent bill to provide every mother with an opportunity to view an ultrasound image of her unborn child prior to an abortion;
- Virginia’s partial birth abortion ban as recently upheld by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals;
- The Pregnant Women’s Support Fund passed by the General Assembly in 2009 to assist women facing unplanned pregnancies;
- Stem cell research, as long as the stem cells originate from non-embryonic sources (such as bone marrow and pluripotent stem cells). Jeff does not support government funding of research that uses embryonic stem cells because doing so unnecessarily involves the destruction of innocent human life.