Another big day of news in Virginia. The state senate has voted to put the "personhood bill" on hold. The first piece of House legislation introduced by the new Republican majority this year, HB1 would have banned all abortions in Virginia and likely the pill, too.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch recaps the senate Republican leader's argument as:
the issues raised by the bill are more complex and far-reaching than previously thought and merit further study.
That sounds a little like the Republican backpedal yesterday on the unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound bill, which had Republicans saying they had not quite understood all the implications of what they were proposing.
Our guest last night, Delegate David Englin, writes to say that today's news "is a huge win," even as he notes that the revamped ultrasound bill is still kicking around. On the other hand, the personhood bill remains on a supplemental calendar -- you could see it as gone, or as merely lurking.
(Last night's segment: Back to the drawing board for the Virginia governor)