Since taking office in 2006, Del. Jennifer L. McClellan’s legislative priorities have been improving public education, providing access to affordable, quality health care and strengthening Virginia’s economy.
A few lonely voices in the General Assembly are starting to suggest that Virginia went too far with its get-tough-on-crime initiatives in the 1990s. Along with the usual arguments about compassion, redemption and rehabilitation, they are offering another, more hard-nosed reason to revisit those policies: the cost to the taxpayers.
How long someone has to wait for a sterilization operation in Virginia depends on whether the individual has had a child. A House of Delegates panel will consider legislation this morning from Del. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond, that would strike a required 30-day waiting period before a sterilization operation for a person who is 18 or older and has not been the natural or adoptive parent of a child.