Politics

Virginia Democrats Want Abortion In The Constitution. 700,000 Catholics Could Stand In Their Way

Interior of a Catholic Church in Virginia (Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

While Virginia Democrats are pushing to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution, thousands of Catholics have organized a massive opposition.

In January, Democratic Virginia state lawmakers advanced a constitutional amendment on abortion rights to appear on the November ballot, Virginia Mercury reported. While abortion is presently legal in Virginia up to 26 weeks and six days of pregnancy, the state’s constitution does not at present explicitly protect a right to abortion, 13NewsNow reported.

The proposed amendment asks voters: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?”

The ballot measure is supported by Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Democratic Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones. However, some of the state’s roughly 693,000 registered Catholics from both of its two dioceses are urging voters to reject it ahead of Election Day, labeling it as “extreme.”

In a rare move, Catholic Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington issued a Sept. 12 letter urging Virginians to join the “Catholics Vote No” campaign, which opposes Ballot Questions 1 and 2. Ballot Question 2 would in part “remove a provision that states marriage is between one man and one woman.”

“[Ballot Question 1] threatens the health and safety of mothers and would allow for abortions targeting healthy babies all the way up to birth,” Burbidge’s letter claims. “The amendment extends this so-called right even to minors. It would remove the role of parents concerning life-altering and irreversible decisions for their minor daughters.“

“The proposed amendment is extreme. It is unnecessary. And it is wrong,” the letter continues.

In August, Burbidge and Bishop Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond issued a joint letter claiming in part that Ballot Question 1 “would endanger women’s health and safety” if passed.

Burbidge also warned against supporting the two ballot measures during Mass at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Fairfax on Sept. 13, noting it was the first time he has asked for one of his letters to be read to parishioners “throughout the diocese.”

“Ballot Question number 1 fails to protect the life of the unborn, the health of women, and even fails to respect the rights of parents in the lives of their children. Ballot Question 2 fails to respect the sanctity of marriage as Jesus taught, the sacred union of one man and one woman,” Burbidge told the crowd at Mass. “[We] cannot condone that. We must vote no to those questions and say yes to the truth. I’ve asked that the letter from me be read throughout all the parishes today throughout the diocese, [and] I think it’s the first time I’ve done that during my tenure here. But there’s so much at stake.”

The Arlington Diocese notably comprises 69 parishes in Northern Virginia, with 464,861 registered Catholics and 266 priests.

Some Virginia Catholics are also organizing voter registration drives at their parishes, according to the Arlington Diocese’s website.

The Arlington Diocese did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

When reached for comment, the Richmond Diocese referred the DCNF to a July 6 pastoral letter from Knestout, which says in part: “as voters, we must recognize that laws shape culture and influence the protection of human rights.”

The ballot measure is actually more about Democrats seeking “power” than expanding abortion access, according to CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt.

“Abortion is already legal in Virginia. That single fact tells you everything you need to know about what this amendment is actually for,” Reinhardt told the DCNF. “This is not about access. It is about permanence and about power.”

“There is a difference between a bishop who issues statements and a bishop who leads. Bishop Burbidge is leading,” she added. “Having his letter read at every Mass across the diocese was not a symbolic gesture … That kind of directness is rare.”

The proposed amendment could make Virginia “one of the most radical states in the country in terms of abortion rights” if it is approved, according to JLK Political Strategies Founder and President Jimmy Keady.

“It would enshrine abortion as a fundamental right in our Constitution, on the same footing as free speech and the Second Amendment,” Keady told the DCNF. “For many Virginians who believe the law should protect unborn life, this is an enormously egregious step that would put common-sense abortion protections beyond the reach of ordinary legislation and make it extremely difficult for future lawmakers and voters to restore any protections for the unborn.”

Keady went on to say that Democrats should not “underestimate the ability of people of faith to organize and make a difference” ahead of Election Day.

“Throughout history, churches and faith communities have played an important role in mobilizing voters and citizens around issues they believe deeply in,” he said. “When people feel strongly about an issue, they can be incredibly dedicated and effective at getting their communities engaged. This effort will be no different if they can translate that conviction into turnout on Election Day.”

Still, pro-abortion groups have claimed Virginia’s Ballot Question 1 represents a major positive step for “reproductive freedom.” The Virginians for Reproductive Freedom campaign maintains that the amendment “would protect our freedom in Virginia to make reproductive health care decisions without fear of government interference or criminal punishment.”

In 2025, there were 39,500 clinician-provided abortions in Virginia, according to estimates from the Guttmacher Institute.

“If passed, Virginia will follow Massachusetts in letting the profiting abortionist alone decide whether a baby is viable and if an abortion is necessary so that the person deciding whether the baby is viable is the same person profiting from her death,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Communications Strategist Tom Olohan told the DCNF. “Virginians must reject this deceptive, extreme, effort from the abortion lobby to push abortion up till birth nationwide.”

Early in-person voting in Virginia opened on Friday and will run through Oct. 31.