Virginia elections carry big consequences for abortion law

Pro-life organizations and lawmakers in Virginia say Tuesday’s bid to control the state legislature could determine what, if any, protections for babies will remain in place in the state.

While abortion isn’t directly on the Virginia ballot this year, many pro-life advocates are looking ahead to a proposed state constitutional amendment that could go before voters next year. Over the summer, college students with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America knocked on about 150,000 doors in the Richmond and Virginia Beach areas to talk to voters about the pro-abortion amendment, said Caitlin Connors, SBA’s southern regional director.

Connors told me the group focused on these locations because they are swing districts, hoping to help Republicans keep their existing seats and perhaps flip a few more. “It will be the only way we can stop [this] pro-abortion ballot measure,” she said.

On Tuesday, Virginians will choose representatives to fill the state’s entire lower chamber, the 100-seat House of Delegates. If voters can flip the chambers’ narrow Democratic majority to Republican, they could stop the amendment from coming before state voters in 2026. National pro-abortion groups have supported campaigns for state delegates and for Virginia’s governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general—the latter three seats all currently held by Republicans and hotly contested this year.

Virginia already has the most lax abortion laws in the southeastern United States, allowing abortions throughout the first two trimesters. Researchers have also reported a spike in women traveling into the state for the procedure.

In January, state lawmakers in both chambers voted along party lines to approve a resolution to add a right to abortion into the state’s constitution. Under the proposed amendment, legislators could not pass any future laws to regulate abortion except in the third trimester. The measure would also affect current laws allowing for abortion in the third trimester if a medical professional believes the pregnancy poses risks to the mother’s life or physical or mental health.

“In our existing law we have a three-doctor standard for late-term abortions whereby three doctors have to basically agree about those protections of life or health of the mother,” then-Del. Todd Gilbert said during the January session to vote on the resolution. “Under this constitutional amendment, the abortion doctor alone, without any consultation with anyone else, in his or her professional judgement can make that determination.”

Currently, the Democratic Party holds a 21-19 majority in the state Senate and a 51-48 majority in the House. District 33 is currently vacant after Gilbert, the Republican House minority leader, resigned this summer.

Before a constitutional amendment goes to voters, lawmakers in Virginia must approve the proposed resolution again, after the House of Delegates election. Connors with SBA said key races include District 97, which flipped from Republican to Democratic in 2023, and District 82, where Republican Del. Kim Taylor is fighting a rematch against Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams.

While pro-life groups try to educate voters about the House of Delegates races and their relevance to the amendment, national pro-abortion groups are also setting their sights on Old Dominion. Planned Parenthood last month partnered with other pro-abortion groups to launch a six-figure digital ad campaign attacking incumbent state Attorney General Jason Miyares. And Reproductive Freedom for All launched a $5 million national electoral program focusing on “important battlegrounds” such as Virginia. The campaign directed $1 million of the funds to canvassing, door knocking, advertising, and hosting events in the state.

State Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, now running for governor, has previously defended protections for unborn babies after six weeks of pregnancy, and she has stated she is morally opposed to the pro-abortion amendment. In October, though, during the first and only debate between the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates, Earle-Sears said that she would defer to the will of the people when it comes to abortion laws. “My opponent, on the other hand, has the extremist view, which is abortion up until the very hour that the baby could be born,” she said.

The debate moderator asked former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, if she supported any limits on abortion. She said she backed what she called “the Roe standard,” referring to the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that made abortion a constitutional right. “I support the current laws in Virginia which include limits on minors obtaining abortions and limits after the second trimester.” She also said she supported the proposed constitutional amendment.

“We all know that the constitution and a constitutional amendment is going to be higher than state law,” Del. Timothy Griffin, a Republican, said when lawmakers debated the amendment. He and Connors pointed out that the amendment as written does not require minors to obtain parental consent for an abortion. The proposal could also strip away conscience protections for doctors and use taxpayer money to pay for the procedure, Connors said.

Most Virginia voters may not know about next year’s proposed abortion amendment, or about another proposed amendment that would repeal the constitutional provision that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, said Victoria Cobb, president of the pro-life Family Foundation Action. “Those things are really on the line, but because the ballot doesn’t have those issues listed—they have names and parties—it isn’t front and center for every voter until you bring it out in a conversation,” she said.

Voter turnout is critical this year, Cobb said, as many races will likely come down to just a few hundred votes. By Sunday, more than 1.4 million people had cast early ballots, up from about 1.15 million who cast early ballots before the 2021 election. More than 6.3 million people are registered to vote this year, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. Cobb said last week that volunteers from the group will have visited about 50,000 homes across the state by Election Day.

Regardless of who wins on Tuesday, Cobb said her organization and other pro-life groups are already preparing an aggressive fight against the proposed amendment. “We’re going to have to make sure whatever House of Delegates walks in that door in January, they are told to vote against this constitutional amendment, that they understand how extreme it is,” she said.