Tue Feb 28, 2023 – 5:44 pm EST
RICHMOND, Virginia (LifeSiteNews) – Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates have defeated legislation that would have submitted to the voters a proposed amendment to establish a “right” to abortion in the Virginia Constitution.
ABC affiliate WRIC reported that the amendment would have added a “right to make and effectuate one’s own decisions about all matters related to one’s pregnancy,” including abortion, except when there is a “compelling state interest,” to “ensure the protection of the health of an individual seeking care, consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice and evidence-based medicine.”
In other words, abortion could be regulated in the interest of women’s health (though potentially constrained by legal arguments that regulations such as admitting privilege requirements infringe on the “right” to abort), but not in the interest of the preborn child’s life, health, or safety.
A partisan 5-3 vote of the House of Delegates Courts of Justice subcommittee rejected the amendment earlier this month, after which Democrat state Del. Marcus Simon pushed to force a floor vote by the full House on the measure. An amendment would have to be passed twice by the legislature before it
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