“Anti-abortion politicians on the House Courts of Justice Subcommittee don’t want Virginians to vote on a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom because they know they’ll lose”

From Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:

Virginia House of Delegates’ Subcommittee Votes Down Constitutional Amendment to Protect Reproductive Freedom and Advances Two Bills to Stigmatize Reproductive Health Care

The constitutional amendment is “passed by indefinitely” on 5 to 3 vote; Harmful anti-reproductive health care bills are reported to the full committee. 

Richmond, Va – Today, the House of Delegates Courts of Justice Subcommittee #1 considered several bills impacting reproductive health care: HJ519 (Herring), HB2270 (Greenhalgh), HB1795 (Freitas). HB1488 (McGuire) was passed by for the day.

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

“Anti-abortion politicians on the House Courts of Justice Subcommittee don’t want Virginians to vote on a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom because they know they’ll lose. A recent poll from The Watson Center at Christopher Newport University found that 72% of Virginians want our abortion laws to stay the same or be less restrictive.

But Virginians’ strong support for abortion rights hasn’t stopped extremist politicians — including those who make up the majority of this subcommittee — from continuing their attacks on their own constituents’ reproductive health and freedom. Instead of following the will of the people they purport to represent, anti-abortion politicians today opted to prioritize their own out-of-touch ideological agendas by advancing harmful legislation  that would only serve to roll back Virginians’ rights. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia will continue to fight these bills and every political attack on our health and rights, just as we’ll continue to advocate for the Constitutional Amendment for Reproductive Freedom.”

The Republican-led subcommittee today advanced multiple harmful bills, including a so-called “born alive” bill, which is nothing more than a vehicle for anti-abortion politicians to push misinformation, stoke fear, and bully patients and providers — all toward the ultimate goal of banning abortion. These unnecessary bills use inflammatory rhetoric to address a made-up problem, as medical professionals are already obligated to provide appropriate medical care. To suggest otherwise is false, offensive, and dangerous.

Finally, they voted to advance legislation to reinstate mandatory biased counseling for patients before an abortion. This is another blatant attempt to shame and stigmatize patients, and it puts politicians in the middle of private medical decisions that should be left to an individual and their health care provider.

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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAV) is a statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to preserve and broaden access to reproductive health care through legislation, public education, electoral activity and litigation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. PPAV works to ensure that individuals and families have the freedom, information, and ability to make their own informed reproductive choices.