When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion law moved to the states. Last month people in ten states voted on separate abortion measures. And Virginia is now considering putting an amendment to its state constitution to a vote of the people, but it has a long way to go before it gets to that point.
A Democrat-controlled House committee passed the amendment seeking to enshrine abortion rights in Virginia's constitution. Delegate Charniele Herring, who introduced the measure, compared abortion to medical procedures that lawmakers should not influence, saying, "We as politicians have decided we're going to determine how to treat a patient and we're not even in the room with them. We don't do that with cancer."
Republican House Minority Leader Delegate Todd Gilbert told CBN News the amendment goes too far in a number of ways.
"This has no guardrails whatsoever for the unborn," he said. "It leans completely into the most extreme version that any state is doing on this topic. It goes well beyond Roe versus Wade."
Gilbert explained that Roe versus Wade allowed abortion until about 26 weeks of pregnancy – the proposed amendment to Virginia's constitution goes further than that by allowing abortion up until birth if a doctor says the mother's health is in danger.
"In theory, that could be the abortion doctor who could make the decision," he said, "and not just about the health of the mother. It clearly says the mental health of the mother."
The amendment would also allow for just a single doctor's approval for late-term abortions. Virginia's current abortion law requires three doctors to sign off on abortions in the end stages of pregnancy.
Another sticking point is the amendment's allowance for minors getting secret abortions.
"It's going to eliminate things like parental notification, which may even be more scary than the other things that it does," Gilbert said. "So having children being able to be subjected to this procedure without their parents' involvement, I think it speaks loud and clear to the intentions of Democrats, at least in Virginia."
Virginia's constitutional amendment has a long way to go before it's put to the voters. It must pass in the state legislature twice, with an election in between those votes, when all 100 House seats, as well as governor and lieutenant governor, will be on the ballot.
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