It’s been three months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and with the midterm elections around the corner, we’re reminding Virginians just how out of touch Republicans are on choice. Republicans like Glenn Youngkin, Jen Kiggans, Yesli Vega, and Hung Cao have made clear they will bring Virginia and the country backward on reproductive freedom.
Here’s a refresher on Virginia Republicans’ extreme, anti-choice agenda:
Glenn Youngkin
While he’s not on the ballot this November, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has pushed an anti-abortion agenda and doubled down on his promise to work to impose an abortion ban following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Youngkin has even taken his extreme, anti-choice agenda beyond Virginia. In recent weeks, he’s traveled the country in support of abortion extremist Tudor Dixon in Michigan and will appear alongside Kari Lake in Arizona next month.
Jen Kiggans
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican VA-02 candidate Jen Kiggans applauded the decision and pledged that her “fight for the unborn and most vulnerable Americans will continue in Congress.” She also claimed that abortion is just a “shiny object” and isn’t an issue “voters really care about.”
Now, after weeks of dodging where she stands, Kiggans has talked up a national abortion ban.
Her anti-choice agenda should come as no surprise, since as a member of the state Senate, Kiggans voted for an extreme, anti-choice budget amendment and opposed legislation that would expand access to reproductive health care.
Yesli Vega
Republican VA-07 candidate Yesli Vega is known both locally and nationally for her extreme, anti-abortion positions – which are wildly out of step with Virginia voters.
In June, Vega made headlines after claiming that women who are victims of rape are less likely to become pregnant, and for suggesting that “only God can decide to save the life of the mother.” She also answered “100% in support of life” while filling out an endorsement survey that asks candidates to commit to a constitutional amendment that bans abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Hung Cao
Republican VA-10 candidate Hung Cao let Virginia voters know exactly where he stood on his anti-choice agenda when he said he was “thrilled that SCOTUS appears to be overturning Roe v. Wade.”
Cao’s extremism doesn’t stop there. He compared reproductive health care to the Holocaust and committed to supporting a law to “protect innocent life from conception to death.”