Geary Higgins' Reproductive Rights Record
Abortion, Generally
Higgins Described Himself As “Pro-Life.” According to Higgins’ campaign website, “I am pro-life and value all human life. I support strengthening legislation to protect the most vulnerable among us, the elderly, the mentally ill, women in crisis, children, and the unborn.” [GearyHiggins.com, accessed 11/28/22]
Spread Conspiracy Theories About Pro-Choice Laws
Higgins Said He Would Oppose Infanticide Legislation
Higgins Said He Opposed Legislation Allowing Abortion Of Children After They Are Born
Higgins, “I Am 100% Committed To Protecting The Life Of The Unborn. Recent Attempts By The Governor And Some Members Of The General Assembly To Pass Legislation Allowing For The Aborting Of Children…After They Are Born, Must Be Stopped.” According to Higgins’ website, “I am 100% committed to protecting the life of the unborn. Recent attempts by the Governor and some members of the general assembly to pass legislation allowing for the aborting of children…after they are born, must be stopped.” [GearyHiggins.com, Issues, accessed 6/13/19]
Higgins Repeatedly Claimed That Abortion Laws Supported By Governor Northam And Democrats Would Allow Doctors To Kill Babies Born With Disabilities
Higgins Claimed That Governor Northam Supported Killing Babies With “Some Kind Of Abnormality Or Deformity”
June 2019: Higgins Said That Northam Wanted To Kill Infants “That May Have An Abnormality Or Some Kind Of A Birth Defect.” From Geary Higgins on the Larry O’Connor Show, “HIGGINS: I have to tell you that that interview that the Governor did was absolutely horrifying to me and I’ll share with you and your audience some personal experience but when I listen to him give that interview and talk so coldly and clinically. And he didn’t talk about fetus he talked about the infant. The infant will be laid on the table. O’CONNOR: That’s right. HIGGINS: And on and on and on and then he backed up a few days later and said well, we’re not talking about normal children, we’re talking about children that may have an abnormality or some kind of a birth defect.” [Geary Higgins, Geary Higgins on the Larry O’Connor Show, 6/12/19]
- June 2019: Higgins Said He Found It Horrifying That Someone Would Suggest Aborting His Daughter Because She Was Born With One Hand. In an interview on the Larry O’Connor Show, Geary Higgins said, “O’CONNOR: Yea, I don’t know that about you. Geary Higgins and it’s remarkable if you think about it. You know, with an ultrasound, you could know ahead of time whether your child is going to be born with only one hand and there would some who would make it legal for that child to be aborted for that reason. Do you think that that should be illegal? Should a parent not be allowed to abort a child because of a physical abnormality? HIGGINS: Well I can certainly tell you in this case, it would’ve been the wrong thing to do and it was interesting because at the time, she was born, before she was born, sonograms were relatively new and they were only used if they suspected something wrong with the child. So we did not have a sonogram, we didn’t know this was coming but I had someone suggest to me later, ‘well, you know if you had a sonogram, you could have,’ and you know to me it was horrifying. My daughter, Megan is a wonderful lady, with a wonderful husband and a wonderful family. There’s nothing what shall I say, abnormal or anything about her that you would even consider abnormal O’CONNOR: Well, you’re preaching to the choir there Mr. Higgins, I’m I have two children who could have been screened ahead of times as supposedly abnormal. And in many states it’s absolutely fine. I don’t see how that’s not a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by the way. To talk about the ultimate discrimination against someone with a disability to actually end their life before it even begins.” [Geary Higgins, Geary Higgins on the Larry O’Connor Show, 6/12/19]
May 2019: Higgins Said That Governor Northam Supported Killing Babies With “Some Kind Of Abnormality Or Deformity.” According to a speech by Higgins at a fundraiser with Mark Levin, “HIGGINS: But the thing that changed for me was after I heard Governor Northam’s radio interview and when I heard him coldly and calmly talking about taking, usually they a use a euphemism, they talk about a blob of cells, they talk about a fetus or something. He said ‘you take the infant, and you lay the infant on the table and then we make the infant comfortable and then we will resuscitate the infant if necessary. And then, they’re gonna decide what they’re gonna do with it.’ That’s barbarous, these people are barbarians. Well a couple of days later he walked it back and said ‘well, that’s not really what I meant. I only meant that if the child that was laid on the table had some kind of abnormality or deformity and you know wasn’t normal then you know, we would do something about it.” [Geary Higgins, Speech at Mark Levin fundraiser via Facebook.com, 5/19/19]
Higgins Repeatedly Claimed That Under Democrats’ Standards, His Daughter Born Without A Left Hand Would Not Be Allowed To Live
March 2019: Higgins Said, “What Doctor Northam And His Band Of Merry Men Might Have Decided Because You Know Because Of An Abnormality That She Didn’t Deserve To Live.” According to a Higgins campaign video, “And then Mr. Northam, Dr. Northam, Governor Northam then he came back and said ‘well, I really didn’t mean that, that this would be willy-nilly. What I meant was that in the case of a child that was born, that was born abnormal or had abnormalities or handicap or something.’ Well, I guess maybe he thought that was a reasonable compromise. But Gail and I, and she’s here tonight. Gail and I have a daughter Megan, she was born with no left hand. She has a husband JT that’s over here and her boys are over there and they are very healthy. What Doctor Northam and his band of merry men might have decided because you know because of an abnormality that she didn’t deserve to live. And so, this kind of barbarism I can’t live with. I can’t sit back and do nothing about it, particularly in the face of other candidates who can’t figure out where they stand on the issue, I know where I stand.’” [Geary Higgins for Senate video via Facebook.com, 3/18/19]
June 2019: Higgins On Northam, “In The Words Of Governor Or In The Thinking Of The Governor, Perhaps [Megan’s] Life Wasn’t Good Enough To Live,” And, “She Wasn’t Perfect, So Perhaps She Would’ve Failed The Test.” In an interview on the Larry O’Connor Show, Geary Higgins said,, “And, my wife and I have a daughter who was born with no left hand. And I could visualize her on that table the day that she was born when I heard his words. And in the words of governor or in the thinking of the governor, perhaps her life wasn’t good enough to live. And I can tell you she’s married, has two kids. They are wonderful, she’s the most talented of my three daughters in some way, creatively and musically and yet she wasn’t perfect, so perhaps she would’ve failed the test.’” [Geary Higgins, Geary Higgins on the Larry O’Connor Show, 6/12/19]
May 2019: Higgins Said That Under Governor Northam’s Standards His Daughter Born Without A Left Hand “Would Not Be Perhaps Eligible To Live.” According to a speech by Higgins at a fundraiser with Mark Levin, “Well, I shared this at our kickoff and some of you [inaudible] sharing it today. My daughter Megan who sang the beautiful song this morning you may not have noticed, most people don’t she was born without a left hand. And being born without a left hand, according to governor Northam’s standards, she would not be ‘normal’ and she would not be perhaps eligible to live. And so again if it makes me out of touch because I believe in the declaration of independence and in the Constitution of the United States then I know where I stand on these issues. And I want to let other people know where I stand on these issues because some people out there are still trying to figure that out. I stand with these issues with Washington, Jefferson and Madison and the rest of them and I know what’s right and what’s wrong.’” [Geary Higgins, Speech at Mark Levin fundraiser via Facebook.com, 5/19/19]