Governor Youngkin’s Cruel and Discriminatory Budget Amendment Fails; Would Have Forced Low-Income Virginians to Carry Pregnancies with Severe Fetal Diagnoses 

From Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:

Governor Youngkin’s Cruel and Discriminatory Budget Amendment Fails; Would Have Forced Low-Income Virginians to Carry Pregnancies with Severe Fetal Diagnoses 

Amendment 30 not adopted thanks to Senate Democrats

Richmond, Va – Today, the Virginia General Assembly considered Governor Youngkin’s Budget Amendment 30, which would have banned Medicaid-eligible Virginians from receiving funding to end pregnancies with severe fetal diagnoses. This funding would have affected cases described in § 32.1-92.2 where the fetus “will be born with a gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or with a gross and totally incapacitating mental deficiency.”

Gov. Youngkin’s cruel and discriminatory amendment failed, though the House of Delegates supported it on a party-line vote of 51-45. The Senate voted to “pass the amendment by for the day” on a partisan vote of 20-19, therefore not adopting the amendment.

Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:

“The rejection of this cruel and discriminatory amendment to the commonwealth’s budget is a victory for health care access. If adopted, Governor Youngkin’s heartless amendment would have further exacerbated the health disparities Black and Brown people face in Virginia. In light of the administration’s rejection of racism as a public health crisis, it is even more critical that Virginians have access to the health care they need. Make no mistake, this cruel and discriminatory amendment was a blatant attack on an individual’s ability to do what is best for them and their family. Every person’s circumstances are different and every pregnancy is unique. A patient’s health should drive important medical decisions, not a politician’s agenda.”

Currently, Virginia denies state funding to Medicaid-eligible pregnant people who seek an abortion except in the cases of rape, incest, when their life is at risk, and in cases of incapacitating fetal diagnoses. This amendment would have struck fetal diagnoses from that list, interfering with low-income Virginians’ fundamental right to make decisions about their health and families.