From Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07)’s reelection campaign:
Spanberger Makes Clear Contrast with Vega on the Right to Choose Ahead of Election Day
Yesli Vega, a Former Police Officer, Doubts Women Who Are Raped Can Become Pregnant
Vega Backs Constitutional Amendment for Nationwide Abortion Ban
Vega Pledges to Support the “Life at Conception Act”
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – As reporting from NPR’s “Morning Edition” highlighted, U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is “drawing a sharp contrast with [Yesli] Vega on reproductive rights.”
Vega has long held extreme views on this issue. After reporting from VPM captured Vega explaining her view that only God – not a doctor or healthcare provider – could decide the life of a mother, a local Virginia news anchor described Vega as, “a far-right candidate who is notoriously anti-abortion.”
Soon after Vega was declared the Republican nominee of Virginia’s Seventh District, comments were made public capturing Vega — a former police officer — doubting whether women who are raped can become pregnant:
“It’s not something that’s happening organically. You’re forcing it. The individual, the male, is doing it as quickly — it’s not like, you know …”
And in early fall, NBC4 Washington reported that Yesli Vega completed a survey for a fervently anti-choice group – the National Pro-Life Alliance – in which she pledged to sponsor legislation that would enact a constitutional amendment outlawing abortions nationwide. In the same survey, Vega pledged to support the Life at Conception Act, a law that defines life at the moment of conception – thereby banning a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion even in cases where her life is threatened.
The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted the concerns from both Virginia voters and national GOP strategists about Yesli Vega’s extreme position on reproductive rights and access to abortion.
Christine Matthews, a Republican pollster, said increased concern over abortion access may tempter GOP candidates’ ability to win over Democratic votes in Virginia.
“You’re not going to get a Democratic woman to vote for a Republican who is not going to support their right to choose,” she said.
Last week, Virginians saw what post-Dobbs threats against the right to choose might look like in Virginia. State Sen. Amanda Chase announced that she plans to introduce the Life at Conception Act — a bill that mirrors federal legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA-05) in the U.S. House of Representatives and the same bill Yesli Vega promised to cosponsor if elected to Congress.
“In the months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, I have heard from Virginia Republicans, Democrats, and independents who are deeply concerned about the threats posed by the Dobbs decision. These Virginians are well aware of the threat posed by my opponent and her extreme positions on this issue,” said Spanberger. “In the wake of the Dobbs decision, I was proud to vote to codify the rights established under Roe, protect the rights to privacy and contraception, and defend same-sex marriage. However, politicians like my opponent want to insert the federal government into these conversations, and that’s why it is so critical that Virginia voters make their voices heard on Tuesday and make sure the rights of Virginia women and their families are protected.”
BACKGROUND
Spanberger is the only pro-choice, pro-marriage equality, and pro-privacy candidate in the race for Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District.
Spanberger has been a vocal advocate for safeguarding the rights of all Virginians. Spanberger has voted with a majority in the U.S. House to protect the rights to contraception, same-sex marriage, interstate travel for reproductive care, and twice to codify Roe v. Wade.
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