ARTICLE I

BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 11-A. Fundamental right to reproductive freedom.

That EVERY INDIVIDUAL Virginia law currently generally requires parental consent or court authorization before a minor obtains an abortion. The amendment, however, states that “every individual” has a fundamental right to abortion. It does not expressly limit that right to adults. Will parents still have a say if their daughter wants an abortion?

We believe parents deserve the right to speak into life-altering decisions involving their minor children. The amendment does not guarantee that protection, and that is one reason why we must vote NO! 
has the FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTCurrently, Virgina’s laws do not protect preborn children in any trimester. If this amendment becomes part of Virginia’s Constitution, abortion will not simply remain legal, it will become a fundamental constitutional right. And as long as that amendment remains in place, future laws protecting preborn children cannot be enacted regardless of which legislators are in power. 
 
We believe every preborn child has value and deserves protection. That is another reason we must vote NO. 
to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.

An individual’s right to reproductive freedom shall not be, directly or indirectly, DENIED, BURDENED, OR INFRINGED UPONCould counseling that encourages a woman to choose LIFE someday be characterized as a “burden”? Could ultrasound services, advertising, disclosures, or other services face malicious regulations or investigations? Those questions matter because pregnancy centers in other states have already faced litigation, investigations, and regulatory efforts. Could CPC be targeted next?
  
We believe pregnancy centers like CPC should be free to serve women, speak truthfully about abortion, and encourage LIFE without fear that their ministry could be restricted, investigated, or targeted as a “burden” on abortion rights. We must vote NO! 
unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.

Notwithstanding the above, the Commonwealth may regulate the provision of abortion care in the third trimester, provided that IN NO CIRCUMSTANCEAbortion is already legal during all three trimesters in Virginia, but current law places additional requirements on third-trimester abortions. Today, three physicians must agree that continuing the pregnancy would likely result in the woman’s death or “substantially and irremediably” impair her physical or mental health. Current Virginia law also includes requirements related to where late-term abortions may be performed and requires life-support measures when there is clearly visible evidence of viability following an attempted abortion. 
The proposed amendment is notably different. It would allow only one physician to determine that an abortion is “medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual” (NOTE: what the amendment calls a “pregnant individual,” we call a woman or mother). It does not include the words “substantially and irremediably,” it does not expressly preserve Virginia’s current hospital requirements, and it does not expressly require life-support measures for a child who survives an attempted abortion.
  
We believe that abortion in any trimester is wrong and that late-term abortions will only increase if this amendment passes. Virginia, we must choose LIFE and vote NO on Ballot Question 1! shall the Commonwealth prohibit an abortion (i) that in the professional judgment of a physician is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual or (ii) when in the professional judgment of a physician the fetus is not viable.

The Commonwealth shall not discriminate in the protection or enforcement of this fundamental right.

The Commonwealth shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against an individual based on such individual’s own exercise of this fundamental right or such individual’s own actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. The Commonwealth shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against any individual for aiding or assisting another individual in exercising such other individual’s right to reproductive freedom with such other individual’s voluntary consent.

For the purposes of this section, a state interest is compelling only if it is for the limited purpose of maintaining or improving the health of an individual seeking care, consistent with accepted clinical standards of care and evidence-based medicine, and does not infringe on that individual’s autonomous decision making.

This section shall be self-executing. Any provision of this section held invalid shall be severable from the remaining portions of the section.