Virginia lawmakers are pushing to add abortion protections to the state’s constitution. Let’s pray against this!

From The Christian Post. Lawmakers in Virginia have approved a constitutional amendment that would establish a right to abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy, taking the first step in their push to ensure that it goes before voters by the end of the decade.

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In a 21-19 vote Tuesday, the Democrat-controlled Virginia Senate approved Senate Joint Resolution 247 along party lines. All Democrats in the upper chamber voted to advance the proposed constitutional amendment, while all Republicans voted against it.

The passage paves the way for the Virginia General Assembly to weigh in on a proposal that would amend the Virginia Constitution for a second time following the next general election, scheduled to take place this November.

The proposed amendment to the Virginia Bill of Rights would establish a “Fundamental Right to Reproductive Freedom,” declaring that “every individual has the 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.”

“An individual’s right to reproductive freedom shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means,” the proposed amendment also states.

While the proposal stresses that “the Commonwealth may regulate the provision of abortion care in the third trimester,” it prohibits the regulation of abortion in cases where a physician determines it is necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual” or because “the fetus is not viable.”

The Virginia Senate rejected an amendment to the proposal introduced by Republican state Sen. Emily Jordan that would clarify that “In the event of a live birth of an infant, including when an abortion procedure results in the live birth of an infant, such infant shall be considered a legal person for all purposes under the laws of this Commonwealth and entitled to the full protection of such laws.”

The amendment also proclaimed that “An infant born alive following an abortion procedure has the same claim to the legal rights and protections as all persons in the Commonwealth and shall be provided the same level of care and treatment as any infant or person seeking care and treatment in a medical facility.”

The rejection of Jordan’s amendment fell along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor of it and all Democrats opposing it.

Another amendment, proposed by Republican state Sen. Tara Durant, was also rejected. The amendment would add text to the Virginia Constitution stating that “the Commonwealth’s parental consent laws shall remain in effect, and the Commonwealth may regulate the provision of abortion care and gender-affirming care to minors.” The vote to reject Durant’s amendment also came down along party lines.

The Virginia Senate approved Senate Joint Resolution 247 less than a week after the Democrat-controlled Virginia House of Delegates approved House Joint Resolution 1 in a 51-48 vote that fell along party lines. The text of House Joint Resolution 1 is nearly identical to the text of Senate Joint Resolution 247, with only minor changes reflecting that it originated in the House and not the Senate.

The joint resolutions passed in both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly included a reference to Article XII of the Virginia Constitution, which states that proposed amendments to the state’s constitution must receive the support of a majority of members of both the Senate and House of Delegates in two consecutive legislative sessions.

If the proposed constitutional amendment is approved by members of both chambers in the next legislative session, which begins following this year’s general election, it must be submitted to the voters for approval.

“The stakes of Virginia’s legislative elections this November just got higher,” Caitlin Connors, regional director for the national pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement Tuesday. “Virginia already allows abortion in the sixth month of pregnancy, but that isn’t enough for Democrats.”

“Republicans must hold Democrats accountable for supporting abortion in the third trimester, the end of parental consent and denying abortion survivors the right of lifesaving care,” Connors added.

All 100 seats of the Virginia House of Delegates are up in November’s general election. Members of the Virginia Senate do not have to run for re-election again until 2027, meaning the push for the amendment will depend exclusively on which party holds control of the House of Delegates. Republicans recently had control of the chamber from 2022-2024.

The push to create a constitutional right to abortion in Virginia marks the latest attempt to enshrine a right to abortion into a state constitution following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The high court determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion. California, Michigan and Vermont voters approved such measures in 2022 while Ohio voters followed suit in 2023.

In 2024, voters in seven states approved measures establishing rights to abortion in their respective constitutions either directly or indirectly: Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York. Meanwhile, efforts to enshrine a right to abortion in the constitutions of Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota came up short.

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This article was originally published at The Christian Post. Used with permission. Photo Credit: Martin Falbisoner – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28359099.