TRENTON, NJ – A new COVID-19 pandemic emergency order is in effect in New Jersey and Governor Phil Murphy’s first ‘new pandemic’ order isn’t to help millions of people in his state against the dire threat posed by omicron. The dangers posed by the omicron variant of the COVID-19 variant are so grave, Murphy, on Tuesday declared a new pandemic public health emergency.
Related: Phil Murphy declares new public pandemic.
In his message to announce the new state of emergency, the governor told his citizens that people are getting sick in record proportions. People are dying. Our hospitals are at the breaking point.
But, Phil Murphy’s first new pandemic action won’t be to ask President Joe Biden to free up some 60 million COVID-19 test kits sitting idly in warehouses. It’s not to going to be to ask the president for an increased supply of monoclonal antibody treatments. It’s not even going to be an announcement of the expansion of the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity. Giving the lockdown happy governor due credit, it’s not even going to be an announcement of business closures, indoor capacity limits or vaccination passports.
No sir, in this dire state of a public health emergency, the governor’s top priority will be to legalize abortion.
Just hours after declaring the public emergency then airing his pre-recorded State of the State address, Governor Murphy said the most important thing facing New Jersey is the woman’s right to end her pregnancy.
“I thank the Legislature for passing and sending to my desk a bill that will secure a woman’s access to reproductive care and her right to choose into state law,” Murphy said. “I will sign this into law this week. These decisions must be kept between a woman and her doctor, period.”
Related: Phil Murphy admits state inflating New Jersey COVID-19 hospitalization figures by as much as 50%
However, your choice to get vaccinated and boosted in New Jersey, during this pandemic is not between a New Jerseyan and their doctor, it’s between you and your governor.
While the COVID-19 vaccine has been cited for lessening symptoms and preventing serious complications from COVID, the CDC this week admittedly confessed, the vaccine is powerless in stopping the actual transmission of the virus.
Dubbed the Reproduction Freedom Act, the bill was rushed through the New Jersey Senate and Legislature this week and now awaits the governor’s signature after the governor declared a public pregnancy emergency as the Supreme Court continues to hear the abortion argument at the federal level.
The bill was passed through committee and voted on by the legislature on Monday, without any public comment sessions.
“A bill to codify a woman’s right to choose into state law and expand access to reproductive health care for all just passed both houses of the Legislature,” Murphy described the bill.
“Specifically, the bill codifies the constitutional right, which has been recognized by the New Jersey Supreme Court, to freedom of reproductive choice, including the right to access contraception, to terminate a pregnancy, and to carry a pregnancy to term,” the bill reads. ” Any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or order that has the effect of abridging the constitutional right to freedom of reproductive choice, including a law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or order in effect on, or adopted after, the effective date of the bill, will be deemed invalid and will have no force or effect. The bill specifically provides that every individual present in the State, including, but not limited to, an individual who is under State control or supervision, has the fundamental right to choose or refuse contraception or sterilization; and to choose whether to carry a pregnancy, to give birth, or to terminate a pregnancy.”
“An unplanned pregnancy can disrupt educational and career plans, forcing the pregnant person to drop out of school, abandon the pursuit of a college or advanced degree, accept lower-paying employment or employment with limited opportunities for advancement, or delay entrance into the workforce, which can have the effect of limiting the person’s lifetime earnings and can prevent the person from following a chosen career path,” declared bill sponsor Loretta Weinberg.
“Governmental restrictions on reproductive choice, by their very nature, impinge on the constitutional right to reproductive autonomy, particularly when they fail to confer any benefits to patients in the form of improved health or safety,” according to the bill, supported by co-sponsor Vin Gopal. “Moreover, restrictions of this nature often have a disparate impact that is predominantly felt by persons who already experience barriers to health care access, including young people, people of color, people with disabilities, people with low income, people living in rural areas, immigrants, and people who are transgender or non-binary.”
Yes, the pandemic is raging around us, people are dying, our hospitals are filling up and Governor Murphy’s top priority over the next two weeks will be to celebrate the codification of the legalization of abortions in New Jersey.