When the Supreme Court upended the settled legal landscape with its decision in Dobbs — stripping away the explicit right to privacy that Americans enjoyed for nearly 50 years — abortion rights assumed center stage in the political discourse at every level of government.
Make no mistake, the simplest solution to preserve the legacy of Roe v. Wade is federal legislation enacted by Congress, enshrining the right to choose in statutory text. However, given that razor thin margins in both chambers render immediate action all but impossible, it falls to the states to protect reproductive healthcare and prioritize women’s health.
Many Virginians assume this battle will inevitably be fought here as well — and they’re absolutely right. While the resounding defeat of a constitutional amendment that sought to limit abortion rights in ruby-red Kansas offers a glimmer of hope for the pro-choice movement, similar successes cannot be guaranteed elsewhere.
Only a few days after the Kansas vote, Indiana became the first state to pass a major restriction since Dobbs. Our neighboring states, including West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky have already initiated steps to restrict abortion, and North Carolina’s 20-week ban was just reinstated.
It is notable that in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s politicization of Americans’ fundamental rights, major pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced it would expand elsewhere rather than Indiana in order to retain and attract talent for its workforce. It isn’t at all hard to imagine this trend continuing as other states enact bans inspired by the Hoosier State.
At the moment, Virginia shines brightly as a safe haven for women in the mid-Atlantic, protecting what should still be their constitutional freedom to make their own health care choices. This commitment remains steadfast among the majority of citizens of our commonwealth, and Virginians of all stripes are working to protect abortion access because it’s the right thing to do.
And yet, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was caught on tape during his campaign telling a supporter he couldn’t talk about abortion and win the election, but promised he wouldn’t “get squishy” on his anti-choice stance, indicated he intends to send down an early-term abortion ban to the General Assembly. Unsurprisingly, he convened an all-Republican working group to craft the legislation.
Virginians overwhelmingly reject the governor’s extreme position. In fact, recent polling suggests that the governor is far out of step with the vast majority of Virginians.
Indeed, 77% of the electorate believes that abortion decisions should be made by women, not politicians. Yet the governor has indicated that he would rather the government lunge headfirst into the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship and strip away the freedom to make one’s own medical decisions.
As the leader of the party that bills itself as the champion of “limited government,” Youngkin seems intent on ushering in the starkest instance of government intrusion into our lives in generations. It seems the governor is troubled by neither the hypocrisy of his position, nor the far-reaching effects such a ban would have on the most vulnerable citizens of our commonwealth.
With an attorney general hell-bent on inserting himself into women’s private decisions as well, our legislature and local governments become more critical in maintaining Virginia’s current healthcare system. With looming elections at both levels, abortion may end up as the most important issue on the table — and our only hope of stopping a total backslide into the regressive realities of a pre-Roe world. Beyond that, community organizations become the last line of defense.
I stand ready to support women seeking safe and legal abortions in the Commonwealth. Dozens of like-minded groups are already marshaling resources to protect these rights here at home, in particular in our urban and rural communities. The thread of hope and progress in this country has frequently run through Virginia, beginning with the founding of our democracy and continuing through our recent successes under former Gov. Ralph Northam and the Democratic majorities in the legislature.
We cannot let the zealousness of out-of-step minority rule threaten the health, safety, and welfare of women in our commonwealth. We don’t want our economy to be impacted when major businesses flee or choose to expand beyond Virginia, nor do we want to slip in our rankings for workers and business. We want women to feel safe and protected within our borders.
I urge Youngkin to listen to the widely held views of Virginians and disband his working group immediately. Staying the course and maintaining Virginia’s current abortion framework is our only hope from upending our steady progress and putting our collective future in jeopardy.
https://roanoke.com/opinion/columnists/jones-to-maintain-virginia-s-standing-leave-abortion-rights-intact/article_2fa7d844-24d5-11ed-91d7-277b0227f018.html