VA Dem nom for gov Abigail Spanberger endorsed assisted suicide

A resurfaced video of Abigail Spanberger is making the rounds on social media, where the Virginia gubernatorial candidate expressed support for legalizing physician-assisted suicide.

The video showed Spanberger at a 2018 event when the then-US House candidate said she backed legislation that would allow terminally ill individuals to choose to end their lives under assisted suicide.

“I support and I would support legislation that legalizes the right to die with dignity of a person’s choosing, and that would include allowing for medical providers to provide prescriptions for life-ending prescriptions, in the cases of someone who is deemed… mentally competent to make that decision,” Spanberger said.

“I oppose the ability of religious institutions to put their religious-based ideas on individuals and their healthcare choices and options,” she continued. “I believe that we should trust people to have relationships with their healthcare providers that lead them to make strong decisions based on their medical practices, and I do not believe that people should have the option to allow their own personal beliefs to dictate the type of medical care that they are providing their patients.”

Last year, Virginia lawmakers voted down an effort to legalize assisted suicide in the state. The practice is currently legal in nearly a dozen states, as well as in Washington, DC.

The video has resurfaced as Spanberger, who announced her run for governor of Virginia earlier this year, faces a closely contested race against Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. A recent Trafalgar Group poll shows Spanberger leading Earle-Sears by 2.6 points among likely voters, placing the race within the poll’s margin of error.