FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2024
Media contact: Kelsey Cowger (kelsey@progressva.org / 434-484-2795)
Richmond, VA – Today, Virginians for Reproductive Freedom (VRF) announced their intention to engage in a multi-year effort to amend the Virginia Constitution to include broad protections for reproductive freedom. The 15 state-based organizations and one national organization in VRF (listed below) reach every corner of the Commonwealth and represent health care providers, patient advocates, reproductive justice workers, and the majority of Virginians who agree that protecting reproductive freedom is of utmost importance.
“VRF is working with champions in the Virginia General Assembly to move an amendment through the required legislative approvals this upcoming session and next, with the goal of reaching voters in November 2026,” said Breanna Diaz, Policy & Legislative Counsel with ACLU-VA and VRF coordinator.
VRF is ready and excited for this historic and consequential opportunity to introduce and pass a constitutional amendment that leaves no one behind. Roe provided a right but did not guarantee equitable access to abortion care, leaving a profound and disproportionate impact on communities of color, young people, rural residents, individuals with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, and those with low incomes. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe exacerbated an already fraught abortion landscape. What little was left of basic abortion access was completely banned in 14 states. Today, 41 states, including Virginia, ban abortion at some point in pregnancy. These bans have devastating consequences, especially for Black women like Amber Thurman and Candi Miller in Georgia, whose deaths were preventable. Virginia is – and needs to continue to be – a critical access point for people who need abortion.
All Virginians should be able to make decisions regarding their own reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, without government interference, and nobody should be faced with criminal punishment for making these decisions or providing healthcare. The people of Virginia should be trusted to do what is right for them. A constitutional amendment will solidify that trust for generations of Virginians, and it’s time to fight for it.
The organizations of VRF are energized and dedicated to protecting all Virginians by making sure no politician or future administration can take away the basic human right of controlling one’s own body. They invite Virginians to know the issues, do the research, and help preserve all of our rights.
For more information, or to get involved with this initiative, please visit their website at https://www.va4reprofreedom.org.
Virginians for Reproductive Freedom
- American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – Virginia
- Birth in Color
- Equality Virginia
- Hamkae Center
- National Council of Jewish Women – Virginia
- National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice – Virginia
- National Women’s Political Caucus – Virginia
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
- Progress Virginia
- REPRO Rising Virginia
- Whole Woman’s Health
- A Woman’s Choice Danville
- Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance
- Young Feminist Party of Virginia
- National Institute for Reproductive Health, Advisory Member
