This past week, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam made headlines regarding a radical pro-choice comment said during an interview.  Just two days later, journalists reported on a racist image on Northam’s medical school yearbook page. Now, the big elephant in the room is if or when will Northam resign?  

On Jan. 30, Northam was responding to questions from reporters asking about his support for a then-proposed bill to reduce the restrictions on late-term abortions.

“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered,” Northam said. “The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”

Although the question was strictly about the procedure itself, Northam, who is a pediatric neurologist, obviously felt qualified enough to answer.  In short, Northam is clearly advocating for the ability of mothers to decide to abort their children after birth. The age-old defense of Democrats and Pro-Choicers, that abortions are permitted if the mother’s life is in danger, is no longer valid as the child can no longer be a threat to the mother’s health after they are born.

Unfortunately, the description of the procedure given by Gov. Northam is already in practice and few states have clear restrictions on abortions in general. Gov. Northams’ attempt to add Virginia to the mix was ill received and denied.

Governor Northam made headlines just a few days later following the revelation of a 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook photo of two individuals, one was wearing a Klan hood, and the other was wearing “blackface,” on his yearbook page.

On Feb. 1, Northam apologized and acknowledged that he was in the photo.  However, later in the day, the Virginia Black Legislative Caucus and many high-profile Democrats called for his resignation.

Governor Northam contradicted his previous states by adamantly denying his presence in the photos this past Friday, Feb. 2. Just after promising to stay in office, Northam admits to wearing blackface to look like Michael Jackson for a dance contest.

Although it seems unlikely that the Governor would resign willingly, if that were to happen, his replacement has gained controversy already.  Lt Gov. Justin Fairfax is a young and fairly inexperienced politician who faced a sexual misconduct allegation. Fairfax denied the allegations better than his potential predecessor simply by not changing his statement two or three times.

Many fear that  Northam and Fairfax may bring about a new era of doubt in our Virginia government.