{"id":324616,"date":"2025-01-15T06:33:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T12:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=324616"},"modified":"2025-01-16T18:32:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T00:32:23","slug":"virginia-lawmakers-amendment-abortion-right-third-trimester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/virginia-lawmakers-amendment-abortion-right-third-trimester\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia lawmakers advance amendment making abortion a ‘right’… and easier to get in third trimester"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday passed<\/a> an amendment aimed at enshrining induced abortion \u2014 the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child \u2014 as a constitutional right. The vote was along party lines, with 51 Democrats voting for the amendment and 48 Republicans opposing it.<\/p>\n

According to The Virginian Pilot<\/a>, the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee also voted Tuesday to advance the “reproductive freedom resolution[]” in an 8-6 party line vote. The amendment will need to pass both the House and Senate twice before Virginia voters consider it for final approval in 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The proposed amendment<\/a>, sponsored by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, would alter the Constitution of Virginia by adding section 11-A to Article 1 with the new section titled, “Fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” The term “reproductive freedom” is a popular euphemism for induced abortion. However, the amendment groups life-affirming acts such as “prenatal care” and “childbirth” together with “abortion care” \u2014 which intentionally ends<\/em> preborn lives.<\/p>\n

As approved by the House of Delegates, the amendment states:<\/p>\n

That every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.<\/em><\/p>\n

An individual’s right to reproductive freedom shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.<\/em><\/p>\n

The amendment allows the Commonwealth of Virginia to place only extremely loose restrictions on abortion in the third trimester, stating that the Commonwealth may “in no circumstance… <\/strong>prohibit an abortion<\/strong> … that<\/strong> in the professional judgment of a physician is medically indicated <\/strong>to protect the life <\/strong>or physical <\/strong>or mental health <\/strong>of the pregnant individual<\/strong> or … when in the professional judgment of a physician the fetus is not viable<\/strong>” (emphases added).<\/p>\n

In other words, preborn children old enough to live outside the womb could be legally killed<\/em> by dismemberment or lethal injection<\/a> because of a mother’s mental health issue or because an abortionist determined the baby to be “not viable” \u2014 when viability (the ability to survive outside the womb) is known to be viewed by abortionists as subjective<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In addition, the amendment would reduce the number of doctors needed to sign off on a third-trimester abortion from three to just one<\/em>. As Del. Nick Freitas noted, the debate on the amendment proved just how extreme this measure is.<\/p>\n