Nearly 400 pro-lifers united in Richmond to advocate for life at Virginia Pro-Life Day Jan. 29.
Before meeting with state legislators, the pro-life advocates were briefed on recent and upcoming pro-abortion legislation and the ramifications upon Virginia’s pro-life status.
Amy McInerny, diocesan Respect Life director, updated advocates that a pro-abortion amendment to the Virginia constitution had recently passed both the House and Senate. The proposed amendment would declare abortion to be a “right” and would allow any person in the state of Virginia to obtain an abortion — including minors without parental consent or knowledge, she said. The governor of Virginia is not allowed to veto a constitutional amendment.
The amendment reads, “every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom.”
McInerny said the vague language of the amendment would be the gateway to minors obtaining cross-sex hormones or organ-removing surgeries, as the amendment does not define the term “reproductive freedom.”
The repercussions of the amendment are more far-reaching than most realize. McInerny said. “If this amendment passes, there are no protections for conscience rights,” she said. “This is Roe on steroids.”
While the amendment would need to pass a second time in the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session before it reaches the ballot for Virginians to vote on later that November, advocacy is needed now, McInerny said: “The brakes on the train are in your hands.”
“Nothing moves the needle like that face-to-face meeting with your delegate or senator,” she added.
Pro-lifers reviewed several more pieces of pro-abortion legislation and arguments against the measures. One such measure is an abortion shield bill (SB743), already passed by the Senate, that would shield Virginia abortion providers from being extradited to another state for violating that state’s abortion laws, if the abortion practices occurred within Virginia.
“This bill is an invitation for every unscrupulous medical provider in the nation to come and set up shop in Virginia,” McInerny said. She added the bill also pertains to Virginia abortion providers that offer “telemedicine services,” including abortion-inducing drugs, even if the woman is in a state where the abortion pill is illegal. “It disrespects the sovereignty of other states,” she said.
One bill (SB780) would require health care plans to cover all FDA-listed contraceptive drugs, including some abortion-inducing drugs. Another bill (SB1098) would designate abortion and other “gender-affirming health care services” as a “protected health care activity,” protecting both under Virginia law, regardless of whether patients were harmed or not as a result.
McInerny also provided advocates with arguments to support pro-life pieces of legislation, including the Hyde amendment, introduced by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which would prohibit the use of Virginia tax dollars to fund abortions of children “who might be born with disabilities.”
Armed with education and arguments, advocates marched to the Virginia General Assembly building to meet with their delegates and state senators.
Students from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria met with three delegates, including Delegate N. Baxter Ennis, who told the students that he shared their pro-life beliefs.
“Thank you for being active, being engaged, and hopefully you’ll stay engaged,” he said. “We need people who actually act with their heart and their mind and try to make a difference in our state.”
A group of parishioners from Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, along with Msgr. Robert C. Cilinski, pastor, met with Kayla Enoch, chief of staff for Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, and provided her with arguments for why Sen. Foy should oppose the amendment next year. Foy was co-patron of the constitutional amendment and patron of SB780.
“I have been a nurse for over 50 years. I have been working in a mental health field for the last 30 years,” said Bernadette Macdonald, a parishioner of Our Lady of Angels Church in Woodbridge. “And because I work in the mental health field, I have spoken with many women who have suffered from the trauma of abortion.”
Macdonald described the impact upon women who have taken the abortion pill. “There is definitely a wound in that woman. A psychological wound, primarily, but can be physical from the side effects of the medication as well,” she said.
Msgr. Cilinski appealed to Foy’s desire to help women. “As a church, we’re there to bring healing to those affected by abortion,” he said, “but we also work to advocate on behalf of that child in the womb that longs to be born, and the mother and father who are dealing with the crisis pregnancy, to offer support, non-judgmental support, and to offer alternatives.”
This article has been updated.
