I think I can see what Gov. Northam was trying to say, though not very well. And based on family experience, I sort of agree.

When I was very young, I had a brother who was born with spina bifida. His life was filled with sickness and pain, and it was with sadness and a sense of relief when he finally died, just short of three months. I only have a very vague recollection of the funeral, seeing my dad and other men carrying a small coffin to the grave, but it affected my family strongly. Abortion was not an option back in those days, but I'm sure it would have been better for Stephen if he had been spared those three months of agony.

These days, of course, it's possible to identify birth defects a lot earlier than it was then, and a fetus becomes viable a lot sooner. i try to avoid the subject of abortion, because I confess I don't know what the answer is. Maybe some form of evictionism is, where a viable fetus can be adopted by others and not murdered. But frankly, I would prefer to stay out of the debate.

Onward and upward,
airforce