Is Sen. Jeff Van Drew moving Left on Pro-Life and the Death Penalty?

State Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-01) has played the conservative Democrat most of his public life.  But now that he's a candidate for Congress (NJ-CD02), in a deeply polarized environment, is that beginning to change?

Van Drew recently took his name off two very important bills of importance to conservatives.  According to the New Jersey Legislative Digest, put out by the Office of Legislative Services, Senator Van Drew recently withdrew as a prime sponsor from two bills:

Co-Prime Sponsors Withdrawn:

S539(Van Drew,J)Death penalty-reinstates certain

SCR35(Van Drew,J)Minor child med procedures-notify parent

S-539 would restore the death penalty for persons convicted of certain murders.  The bill's statements lists the following:  "(1) the victim was a law enforcement officer or correction officer and was murdered while performing his official duties or was murdered because of his status as a law enforcement officer or correction officer; (2) the victim was less than 18 years old and the act was committed in the course of the commission of a sex crime; (3) the murder occurred during the commission of the crime of terrorism; (4) the defendant was convicted, at any time, of another murder; or (5) the defendant murdered more than one person during the same criminal transaction or during different criminal transactions but the murders were committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct."

Yes, Jeff Van Drew took his name off this legislation.

SCR-35 is a proposed amendment to the state constitution stating that "the Legislature may provide that a parent or legal guardian shall receive notice before his or her unemancipated minor or incompetent child undergoes any medical or surgical procedure or treatment relating to pregnancy, irrespective of any right or interest otherwise provided in the State Constitution."

This legislation simply applies the same parental notification standards to the evasive medical procedure of abortion, that exist for every other medical procedure.  It looks at abortion as a medical procedure... not as a sacrament or mystical rite of passage.

And Van Drew withdrew his name from this as well.

What is going on here?  And what do his Assembly mates Bob Andrzejczak and Bruce Land have to say about it?

Perhaps you should ask them...

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