Last month, Virginia’s Democrat majority Senate advanced a ballot initiative that would codify unlimited abortions in Virginia’s state constitution. The amendment, if passed next year, will be a ballot item in 2026 that goes to a statewide referendum.

Democrats who were members of the House of Delegates in New York had voted for the amendment just a week earlier. Codifying abortion became the rallying cry of abortion advocates after Roe V. Wade was overturned. Virginia Democrats made the resolution a priority for the state’s 2025 first session, which completed the first phase of the two-year process.

All Republicans in the Senate voted no on the amendment. Senators also voiced their opposition. Democrats rejected Republican Senators’ proposals to reduce some of the more extreme aspects of their amendment. Emily Jordan and Tara Durant. Olivia Gans Turner, President of the Virginia Society for Human Life, stated that if the measure is incorporated into the Virginia constitution, the state legislature would be prevented from regulating abortionists or the distribution of dangerous chemical abortion drugs.

Caitlin Conners, regional director of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said that the Democrats’ decision to make it their top priority shows how extreme they have become in this regard. “They prioritized this issue over everything else they could do for the people of Virginia.”

Republican Senators. Mark Peake and Mark Obenshain were among those who challenged the resolution, citing false information and risks. Gans-Turner pointed out that Democrats admitted in response to Gans Turner’s observation that Virginia’s laws were not safe. Many aspects of abortion are almost unregulated. The Democrats did not change their votes.

The Democratic movement seems to be centered around the fight for the right to kill unborn children. Peake said that “they’ve introduced bill after bill”.

The proposed amendment to the Constitution would allow the legislature only to limit abortions in cases of “compelling public interest”. Age restrictions and limits on the age at which a child is born are not included. The consent of the parents is not needed for abortions performed on minors.

“This isn’t a Roe-v. Wade framework where the state can have a compelling interest in the life of an infant at the edge of viability,” stated Del. Mark Earley Jr., R-Chesterfield, who debated House version of measure. This amendment is true, and it’s not exaggerated, in that it would allow abortions up to birth. The only restriction would be if a doctor said this would harm the mother’s well-being.

Earley stated that many voters and legislators believe the amendment will restore the Roe V. Wade frame work, but this is false. The measure goes further: “This would obliterate any parental rights and wipe out existing laws regarding parental notification, as well as create new fundamental rights not only for adults, but for all individuals.” Democrats in the legislature claim that we’re not tampering parental rights. But from a legal and common sense standpoint, [this] amendment will override these things.”

Jeff Caruso of the Virginia Catholic Conference said that thousands of Catholics in Virginia contacted their legislators to ask them to vote against this amendment. They were ignored by pro-abortion lawmakers who are hell-bent to abortion until birth. In a statement released on Jan. In a statement issued on Jan.

The Virginia House of Delegates will be reelected in November. If Democrats keep their majority, they’ll pass the amendment first, Connors stated. Republicans only need to flip one or two seats in order to gain a majority against the measure.

Peake stated that the only way to save the amendment is for Republicans to regain control over the House in the fall. Then it will take four years [potentially] before it reaches the ballot. If Democrats win the House in the fall, [the amendment] will be passed again in January. It will then go directly to the voters. It will be important to educate the public about what the Constitutional Amendment actually does.

Gans-Turner argues that leftist polls show Virginians to be in favor of abortion. However, these polls have serious flaws. The polls do not ask whether people support abortion until birth, or if they want to see no protective regulations protecting women’s health. These are key elements of this ballot measure. She said that the polls do not ask if Virginians know about this amendment, which will force taxpayers pay for abortions. It can also allow lawsuits removing parental involvement in minors who seek abortions.

“When Democrats talk about abortion to their constituents, they always use the most extreme example, such as protecting the life of a mother or a situation where a minor is the victim of sexual abuse,” said Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper). “That’s not what Democrats [voted for] [this session].” They voted for a largely unrestricted and unregulated abortion up to the ninth month.