Tipsheet

Virginia Dems Pass Radical Abortion Amendment

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  January 15, 2025 8:30 AM

The Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday voted to advance proposed constitutional amendments on abortion, felon voting rights, and same-sex “marriage” on Tuesday.

“What we want to do is put these amendments before Virginia voters,” Democratic Majority Leader Delegate Charniele Herring told reporters. “I trust Virginia voters and it seems like the other side of the aisle does not.” 

Republicans blasted the measure protecting abortion, which passed along party lines, 51-48. 

“This resolution obliterates parental rights [and is] more extreme than Roe,” cautioned GOP Delegate Mark Early. “If you wanted to cut parents out of the process… this amendment would be the way to do it.” 

 SBA Pro-Life America Regional Political Director Caitlin Connors called out Democrats over the extreme amendment. 

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"Virginia already allows abortion in the sixth month of pregnancy, but that isn’t enough for Democrats," she said in a statement. "Their eagerness to break legislative protocol to make third-trimester abortions one of the first votes of 2025 shows just how extreme the Democrat party has become. Their actions are a reminder of the high stakes of Virginia’s legislative races this year. GOP candidates must expose their opponents’ radical agenda for all-trimester abortion, the elimination of parental rights and forced taxpayer funding of abortion.”

Amending the state Constitution takes several years in Virginia. The proposed amendment must be approved by the legislature in two separate years, with a General Assembly election occurring in between. Only then can the amendment proceed to a statewide referendum for voters to decide. 

Because the next election in Virginia is in November 2025, the earliest the three amendments that the committee advanced Wednesday could be put on the ballot is November 2026 — if the measures pass in the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions. 

Under current Virginia law, third-trimester abortions require approval from three doctors. The new amendment would reduce this requirement to just one doctor when a late-term abortion is deemed necessary to protect the life of the pregnant individual, or their physical or mental health, or when a physician determines the fetus is not viable. (Virginia Mercury)

Republicans also accused Democrats of rushing the process.

The revised abortion amendment language in HJ1 shocked the committee’s Republican members, who only saw the changes after the meeting was already underway. Price called a  five-minute recess to allow lawmakers to review the new language before deliberations and voting proceeded.

“I think we’re still trying to figure out what happened today,” a visibly frustrated House Minority Leader Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said after the three-hour hearing. “Something this important and impactful — literally life-and-death decisions — I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything pushed through this fast where we didn’t get a chance to see it.”

Gilbert warned that Price’s decision to not allow the committee more time to review the revised legislation would set a precedent for the way the House conducts its business in the future. 

“We were literally given five minutes to huddle and look at it before we had to decide what we were grappling with, and I think we still don’t know, other than it’s pretty clear that this is a pretty extreme version of efforts to protect abortion that goes well beyond what has been done in other states,” Gilbert said. (Virginia Mercury)