Virginia Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment Protecting Abortion Rights

Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment establishing a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, cementing protections for abortion, contraception and fertility care in the only Southern state that had not moved to restrict abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned.^[1]

The measure, approved in Tuesday's election, guarantees access to abortion during the first two trimesters and allows abortions in the third trimester when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant woman, subject to regulation. It also explicitly protects Virginians' access to birth control and fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization by writing those rights into the state constitution, putting them beyond the reach of ordinary legislation.^[1]

Abortion policy in Virginia shifted after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending federal constitutional protection for abortion and sending the issue back to the states. Republican leaders in Richmond pushed for new restrictions, while Democrats, who campaigned heavily on protecting abortion access in 2023's legislative elections, blocked those efforts and began advancing a ballot measure to lock current protections into the constitution. Lawmakers ultimately sent the amendment to voters this year after clearing the required approvals in two consecutive legislative sessions.

The new amendment brings Virginia into line with a growing number of states where voters have moved to preserve or expand abortion rights at the ballot box since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling. Since that decision, abortion-rights measures have passed in politically diverse states including Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and California, often by larger margins than Democratic candidates in the same states. Supporters in Virginia argued that constitutional language was needed to prevent future legislatures or governors from imposing bans or heavy restrictions, while opponents warned it would entrench what they described as one of the broadest abortion-rights regimes in the region.

Abortion-rights advocates are now likely to point to Virginia's vote as further evidence that access to abortion remains a winning electoral issue, especially in swing or purple states where control of state government frequently changes hands. Anti-abortion groups, who had hoped to make inroads in Virginia after the fall of Roe, face a new reality in which any major rollback of access would require another constitutional amendment, a high bar that typically demands both political consensus and sustained organizing.

1. PBS News