Virginia bishops vow to fight effort to enshrine abortion as constitutional 'right'

Virginia's Catholic Bishops, Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Barry Knestout of Richmond, have spoken out against a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion as a constitutional 'right' in the state.

The proposal passed the General Assembly and will go before the state's voters in the November election.

Key Takeaways:

• Virginians are poised to vote on a constitutional amendment that would enshrine the 'right' to abortion in November.

• The amendment passed the General Assembly last week.

• The state's Catholic bishops are warning that the amendment "shocks the conscience" and would jeopardize the state's current preborn protections.

The Details:

The constitutional amendment would create a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.”

Many pro-lifers warn that this could allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, as well as strip any preborn protections currently in place.

In their January 16 statement, the bishops say that the amendment "shocks the conscience."

"The extreme abortion amendment, which will proceed to a referendum for voters to decide later this year, would go far beyond even what Roe v. Wade previously allowed," the bishops warned, continuing:

 It would enshrine virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no age restriction. Among numerous other problems, it would severely jeopardize Virginia’s parental consent law, health and safety standards for women, conscience protections for healthcare providers, and restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortions.

Most tragically of all, the extreme abortion amendment provides no protections whatsoever for preborn children.

Zoom In:

HJ1 passed the House of Delegates on January 14 with a vote of 64-34, and the Senate on January 16 with a 21-18 vote. The measure heads before voters in November, and needs a simple majority of votes to pass.

According to ARL Now, the governor must also sign a procedural referendum bill before the matter goes before voters. Newly-elected Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger has signaled her support of the measure.

The Bottom Line:

In their letter, the bishops committed to educating the public about the upcoming vote.

"We will be deeply engaged in the work of helping to educate voters on these proposed amendments, and will fight the extreme abortion amendment with maximum determination," they wrote.