NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Endorses Governor Terry McAuliffe for Governor and Attorney General Mark Herring for Attorney General

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Endorses Governor Terry McAuliffe for Governor and Attorney General Mark Herring for Attorney General of Virginia.

McAuliffe and Herring are Proven Reproductive Freedom Champions and will Prioritize Advancing Reproductive Rights & Abortion Access when Elected in November

Richmond, Va. – Today, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC, the political action arm of the Commonwealth’s leading reproductive rights advocacy organization, announced two statewide candidate endorsements – former Governor Terry McAuliffe for Governor and current Attorney General Mark Herring for re-election.

“Terry McAuliffe promised to stand as a brick wall to attacks on abortion access during his first term as governor, and we know he will do that again in his second term. Hopefully, this time around, he won’t just stop bad legislation from becoming law. He will be able to prioritize and sign proactive laws that actually increase access to the full range of reproductive healthcare,” says NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Executive Director Tarina Keene. “We know we have a solid reproductive freedom ally and partner in Terry McAuliffe.”

During Governor McAuliffe’s first term in office, he stood as a  “brick wall” against targeted regulations on abortion providers (AKA TRAP) and defending abortion access. He exercised his veto power numerous times to stop an anti-abortion legislature from getting traction on their agenda to severely curtail abortion rights and access. Governor McAuliffe also directed the Virginia Board of Health to review the politically motivated abortion restrictions put in place during the McDonnell and Cuccinelli Administrations.

During his time in office, Governor McAuliffe also vetoed all anti-reproductive healthcare legislation passed by the General Assembly – including multiple bills that would have defunded Planned Parenthood in Virginia. Governor  McAuliffe will continue to be the brick wall to any attacks that threaten our reproductive rights and will also work tirelessly to protect and expand reproductive freedom and access in the Commonwealth.

“Virginians deserve to have a governor who will always fight to protect their reproductive freedoms. That’s what I did before when I stood as a brick wall against extreme Republicans attacks and successfully kept reproductive health clinics from closing, and it’s what I will always do,” said Terry McAuliffe.“With a conservative Supreme Court poised to hack away at the right to choose and Trump-endorsed Glenn Youngkin promising to go on “offense” to attack reproductive rights if he’s elected, the stakes have never been higher. I’m proud to have the support of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia in my campaign, and together we will continue to defend access to critical health services in the commonwealth.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia is also endorsing Attorney General Mark Herring, who is and will continue to be a champion for reproductive freedom when he is re-elected in November. Attorney General Herring has stood up for patients and abortion providers multiple times during his eight years in office and helped mitigate the impact of some of the worst reproductive healthcare restrictions passed in 2011.

Attorney General Herring reversed dangerously incorrect legal advice left behind by his predecessor, which resulted in closing at least one women’s health clinic and threatened the closure of a dozen more through medically unnecessary and targeted regulations. With the Supreme Court poised to dismantle Roe v. Wade in the coming year, we need an attorney general who will do all they can to protect reproductive freedom for every Virginian. Attorney General Herring’s track record proves that he will not back down from the fight.  

“Everyone deserves the right to make their own choices about their body and reproductive health, so I am extremely proud to have the support of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia,” says Attorney General Herring. “Abortion is constitutional in this country, and I will not stop fighting to ensure that every Virginian who wants an abortion has access. Virginians know reproductive rights are on the ballot this year, and I will continue to protect it.”

Both Governor McAuliffe and Attorney General Herring are committed to protecting safe, legal access to abortion care, birth control, family planning, and comprehensive sex education at this critical moment where access is being threatened on the national level and in states across the country.  It is more important than ever to elect pro-choice candidates who will protect and expand upon the reproductive freedom Virginians have fought so hard to obtain.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia will use the full force of its grassroots organizing and mobilizing power to ensure Governor Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Herring win their elections on November 2nd and help Virginia be a safe haven for reproductive freedom and access.