Thousands of pro-life supporters gathered in Richmond, Virginia this week to defend the lives of preborn children during the 7th annual Virginia March for Life. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was at the front of the march.
The Virginia Mercury confirms approximately 2,000 pro-lifers showed up for the event. Pro-life advocates said they gathered to send a clear message to lawmakers that they oppose current legislation that would enshrine a "right to abortion" into the Virginia Constitution.
For the 4th year as Governor, I joined many, many young people from across the Commonwealth at the #VAMarchForLife today!
We are working every day to promote a culture of life, and to support healthy moms and babies, healthy families and healthy communities. pic.twitter.com/nM5pbGJbmq
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) April 2, 2025
That abortion measure already passed the state legislature in January and would need to pass again next year before the state Constitution would be amended.
The measure would create a "fundamental right" to get an abortion and would protect anyone who commits an abortion on behalf of a woman.
As CBN News has reported, under the current law, abortions are already legal through the second trimester. However, the new measure, titled House Joint Resolution 1 or HJ1, would enshrine abortion into state law and allow for the lives of unborn babies to be taken during the third trimester, in a number of cases.
It would allow abortion in the third trimester to "protect the life or physical or mental health" of the mother. The Arlington Catholic Herald further explains, "It would also reduce the number of doctors required to approve a third-trimester abortion from three to one."
As noted, the measure has been approved once. But it must go through another vote by a new Virginia legislature after elections are held in November 2025. Then it would need to be placed on a state referendum where Virginia voters would make the final decision at the ballot box.
"When we show up to witness for life we cannot be ignored," Erin Getz of the National March for Life said at Wednesday's rally. "We need everyone to go out and talk to your senators and delegates to let them know that we oppose this."
Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears stood side by side with hundreds to protest what's being called an "aggressive" abortion agenda.
"For the fourth year as governor, I joined many, many young people from across the Commonwealth at the #VAMarchForLife today," Youngkin said in a post on X. "We are working every day to promote a culture of life, and to support healthy moms and babies, healthy families, and healthy communities."
"We're not going to give up, are we? No! We're not going to quit, are we? No! Because somebody has to fight for the unborn," Sears shared during the rally.
Attendees of the rally say they want to see changes not only on the legislative level but want to see more resources go to crisis pregnancy centers.
"Seeing everybody here lets me know that there's a lot of people who feel the same way I do," attendee Kyla Jackson told WFXR-TV. "And I'm just hoping that people, you know, do more than march and actually take action to help save more babies."
Nearly 100 Liberty University drove hours to join the rally. They say the fight for life is a deep conviction that compels them to be a voice for the voiceless.
Liberty University students joined thousands of pro-life supporters in Richmond for the seventh annual Virginia March for Life.
Read more: https://t.co/kOkuFsUufW pic.twitter.com/Hg9rOzHbbC— Liberty University (@LibertyU) April 3, 2025
"God created us in an image of himself, and it's important that we protect that image; birth does not begin at perception, it begins at conception," sophomore Gerald Alan Weaver said. "Life should be protected. It's treasured and holy to God."
Meanwhile, the constitutional abortion amendment is not the only threat that looms over the unborn in Virginia.
HB1716 is a measure, that if passed, would stipulate that neither the state nor any locality could implement or enforce any law that prohibits someone's access to contraception. Pro-lifers are concerned about blanket approval of all forms of "contraception." That's because pro-choice advocates consider abortifacient drugs like the so-called "Plan B" or "morning after pill" to be contraception when they might actually induce a very early abortion.
Gov. Youngkin tried to amend that measure regarding types of contraception, and he also added a religious exemption clause to the bill. But then lawmakers gathered Wednesday, the same day of the pro-life rally, and essentially shot down Youngkin's changes.
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