Catholic Church’s Campaign Falls Short As Virginia Voters Approve Abortion Amendment

Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting access to abortion and other reproductive care, despite an unusually direct campaign against it by the state’s Catholic Church. The result matters because the amendment will enshrine those protections in the state constitution and limit legal action against patients and healthcare workers.

With 61 per cent of votes counted, 61 per cent supported the amendment, and major networks had called the result. The measure covers prenatal and postpartum care, childbirth, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management and fertility care; it permits some third-trimester restrictions, with exceptions for the pregnant woman’s health or a pregnancy unlikely to survive. The Richmond bishop urged opposition and had parishes read his letter, while Catholic parishes also held voter registration drives. Prince William and Loudoun counties, among Virginia’s most Catholic, were reported to have backed the amendment by more than 40 points.