Pro-lifers celebrated the third anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade last week, but the fight for life is far from over in Virginia, where abortion advocates and opponents compete for voters.
The stakes are high. In November, every House seat is up for re-election. Democrats have committed to expanding abortion until birth and repealing restrictions on minors through a far-reaching abortion amendment that will pass if they retain a majority.
On June 23, Women Speak Out Virginia 2025, an initiative tied to SBA Pro-Life America, announced it will deploy 100 field workers to contact 150,000 voters across Richmond and Virginia Beach, urging Virginians to vote Republican in November.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood views Virginia as critical in preserving abortion access in the South. The organization held a major rally in Richmond on June 28 and announced it will invest $2.5 million to support pro-abortion candidates statewide.
Pro-life politicians are “disconnected … extremists,” said Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, prior to January’s first round amendment vote. Abortion will be on the ballot, “every year until we secure our right to reproductive freedom,” she added.
The codification of abortion in Virginia has been a top priority for pro-abortion legislators since the overturning of Roe v. Wade and was fast-tracked in the state’s first 2025 session. The radical resolution, passed in the House and Senate, includes abortion until birth, the removal of parental consent, the elimination of basic safety measures, and required taxpayer funding for killing the unborn. A second passage would complete the first two steps in the two-year amendment process and move the measure to a people’s vote in 2026. A favorable vote is final; by Virginia law, the governor has no veto power over a constitutional amendment.
If passed, the amendment would align Virginia with several left-leaning states that have radically expanded access and reduced reasonable safeguards since the overturning of Roe.
Del. Mark Earley, R-District 73, an attorney in the House, has raised legal concerns about the amendment, citing its vague and undefined language. He argues the broad phrasing would restrict the legislature’s ability to regulate abortion and protect public interests.
Women Speak Out canvassers hope to “expose” the amendment’s “extremism to voters,” said Marlene Downing, the organization’s Virginia state director in a June 23 press release. “Our doorstep conversations change the minds of persuadable voters and energize pro-life Americans to go to the polls.”
The organization will target Democratic candidates who support the amendment in competitive districts, including May Nivar (District 57), Jessica Anderson (District 71), Dustin Wade (District 75), Kimberly Pope Adams (District 82), Nadarius Clark (District 84), and Michael Feggans (District 87).
To regain the House majority, Republicans must hold several districts and flip at least two seats. Even a one-seat win and an evenly split House would change the dynamic and power-sharing arrangements in the legislature, according to Earley, who emphasized that Democratic control has blocked many Republican-backed bills from being heard, effectively silencing constituent voices.
Sen. Mark Peake, R-District 8, believes voters will reject what he views as the Democrats’ extreme abortion agenda if they fully understand its scope, including unrestricted abortion access and the removal of age restrictions and parental notification requirements.
Though Republicans face an uphill battle due to redistricting, Earley remains hopeful. He noted that while the current map may favor Democrats, unpredictable factors could help Republicans gain momentum this fall.
“I do think we can have the wind at our back this November and flip the House,” Earley said.
Ashley Bateman is a policy writer for The Heartland Institute and blogger for Ascension Press. Her work has been featured in The Washington Times, The Daily Caller, The New York Post, The American Thinker and numerous other publications. She previously worked as an adjunct scholar for The Lexington Institute and as editor, writer and photographer for The Warner Weekly, a publication for the American military community in Bamberg, Germany.
Ashley is a board member at a Catholic homeschool cooperative in Virginia. She homeschools her four incredible children along with her brilliant engineer/scientist husband.
