DLCC: Reminder – Virginia Republicans Will Ban Abortion If Elected

With one week to go until Virginians decide if they want to allow far-right Republicans to have the power to roll back reproductive rights in Virginia, check out the following press release from the DLCC. Also, click here to listen to Republican State Senate candidate Tara Durant sounds VERY open to voting for essentially ANY abortion restriction/ban legislation that comes to the floor of the State Senate. So let’s make sure Durant and every other Republican candidate who holds these views loses their election next Tuesday!

RELEASE: A Reminder, Virginia Republicans Will Ban Abortion If Elected

The DLCC reminds voters that every Republican state legislator on the ballot supports an abortion ban

WASHINGTON – Virginians have a week left to vote for Democrats in the Virginia House and Senate who will protect our fundamental freedoms. The DLCC is reminding voters in Virginia that Republicans running in Virginia’s first full state legislative election since Roe was overturned will support an abortion ban if elected. If Democrats lose both chambers, millions of people will have their fundamental rights, including access to abortion, taken away under a Republican trifecta.

Republicans have been trying to rebrand their abortion ban as a “15-week limit,” however, a ban is a ban. Make no mistake, while Gov. Youngkin tries to prove he’s a moderate, many of his Republican allies would support an even stricter abortion ban.

Democrats in the state legislature are the only thing standing between Republican extremism and Virginians who hold their fundamental rights near and dear.

A reminder of the threats to reproductive rights: 

Of the 51 Republican candidates who are current members of the legislature, every single one is on the record with explicit anti-abortion positions. 

Zero Republican candidates running for the legislature have gone on the record to say they will protect reproductive rights for Virginians or vote against any new restrictions on abortion access.

Running for the House of Delegates:

Geary Higgins (HD-30) supports Gov. Youngkin’s 15-week abortion ban.

Baxter Ennis (HD-89) said he will vote for Gov. Youngkin’s 15-week abortion ban.

Del. Karen Greenhalgh (HD-97) is a former clinic manager at the Crisis

Pregnancy Center of Tidewater, has sponsored legislation to restrict abortion access and supports Gov. Youngkin’s 15-week abortion ban.

Ian Lovejoy (HD-22) voted for a zoning ordinance as a city council member that would require abortion clinics to apply for a special use permit to open within the city limits. During his 2019 race for the legislature, he received support from a prominent national anti-choice group.

Paul Milde (HD-64) stated he would vote against funding abortion clinics and stated on his 2019 campaign website that he would “stand strong and fight for the rights of the unborn.”

Chris Obenshain (HD-41) called the Dobbs decision “a great victory” for the “constitutional order, and most importantly the unborn.”

Andrew Pittman (HD-94)  In tweets from 2021 and 2022 Pittman called abortion care an “unimaginable horror” and said, “Abortion is murder. Period.”

John Stirrup (HD-21) has said he would support a “100 percent ban” on abortion. He claims to be the founder of an anti-reproductive rights PAC, and during his 2011 race for the Virginia Senate, he promoted his support for placing restrictions on abortion clinics.

Del. Kim Taylor (HD-82) was described as a “Pro-life Republican” by an anti-reproductive rights organization and has voted to mandate counseling for women before they can obtain an abortion.

Running For Senate:

Del. Emily Brewer (SD-17) has consistently voted to restrict reproductive rights in the House of Delegates. She voted against removing a mandate that women undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion and said she would have voted for Gov. Youngkin’s 15-week abortion ban if given the chance.

Danny Diggs (SD-24) supports Gov. Youngkin’s 15-week ban, calling it “common sense” and has promised to repeal current laws protecting abortion access, calling the current laws “reckless.”

Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant (SD-16) Despite voting with Democrats to block one version of the 15-week abortion ban in committee, Dunnavant said she would’ve voted for the ban had it included an exception for fetal anomalies. She has also consistently voted against measures to expand reproductive rights, including voting against constitutional amendment guaranteeing a woman’s fundamental right to an abortion. She has also said the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade was “the right thing to do constitutionally.”

Del. Tara Durant (SD-27) expressed her anti-abortion views shortly after the Dobbs decision came down, stating “I believe life begins at conception. I will always support sound legislation that protects the rights of the unborn and look forward to continuing to work with the administration on this issue during the upcoming session.” In a new recording, Durant also signaled an openness to banning abortion before 15 weeks.

DLCC Interim President Heather Williams issued the following statement:

“We’ve been sounding the alarm bells all year long: A ban is a ban and that’s what Virginians will see if more Republicans are elected to the state legislature. Glenn Youngkin wants to do to Virginia what Ron DeSantis did to Florida. The only way to protect fundamental freedoms in Virginia is by voting. Return your mail-in ballot or make a plan to vote on Election Day at IWillVote.com.”

The DLCC is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures. Last year, the DLCC defied the odds by not losing any state legislative majorities, flipping four key chambers, and creating four new Democratic trifectas – the best midterm year for the party in power since at least 1934. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and pass the policies that have the biggest impact on Americans’ day-to-day lives.

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