Freshman Senator Will Parkinson maintains his position to let the courts decide if the 1990 abortion ban was ever “on the books”.
Senator Parkinson said he will let the court system decide if Public Law 20-134 is in effect during a press conference this morning and urges Attorney General Doug Moylan to go after the real criminals- the rapists and child molesters.
The Senator was originally going to announce the introduction of legislation that would repeal Public Law 20-134, but after consulting with the ACLU he chose to hold off and allow it to be decided on by the courts first.
Parkinson will instead maintain his position and if the courts decide it is “on the books” he will introduce a bill to repeal it.
“I agree with the opinions of former AG Leevin Camacho and attorney Anita Arriola that when this law was deemed unconstitutional it was stricken as if it was never in the books and if was never in the books it would be counterproductive to repeal something that is not there,” says Senator Parkinson.
Parkinson said that the 1990 abortion law, which AG Doug Moylan wants to revive, has extreme consequences, even more so than the heartbeat bill that was introduced last legislative term.
“Public Law 20-134 will put women in jail for making their own personal medical decisions. Doug Moylan should instead go after the problem of criminal sexual violence against minors.”
According to Parkinson, in 2020 there were 142 sexual assault cases with minors as victims and in 2021, there were 109 cases.
“I know Doug Moylan said he would be the toughest AG on crime, but I thought he meant rapists, murderers, and drug dealers. I did not know he meant pregnant women and survivors of rape.”
Jayne Flores, Director of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, also urged AG Moylan to redirect his efforts towards the real criminals.
“I would urge AG Doug Moylan because he did advocate that he would be the Attorney General that would go after criminals, that you need to go after criminals who are committing criminal sexual conduct, sexual assault, domestic violence. Those crimes, which lead to unplanned pregnancies, which leads to possibly the need for abortion, that those are the crimes that should be focused on.”
Senator Parkinson said he will continue to protect and advocate for the people’s right of choice and that he will do anything in his power to maintain the people’s safety and expand access to reproductive healthcare.
Senator Parkinson says, “Being truly pro-choice does not just stop at protecting people’s right to abortion, whether medical, medication or any other form. It means to enact legislation that protects survivors of sexual assault. Ensure that birth control is ready and accessible to all those who need it, better our local healthcare system and so much more.”
He added that if Moylan insists on reviving this law, a lot of innocent people will be arrested.
“To Doug Moylan: if you insist on reviving this law people will be arrested. Pregnant women, young girls, people who exercise their first amendment right to share basic information, innocent people. So if you are determined to arrest these people, then I say, let me be the first because I will never stop advocating for choice and I’ll never stop advocating for the people of Guam,” says Senator Parkinson.
