Election Spotlight: Where the Virginia Candidates Stand on Pro-Life

Virginia is one of two states holding regularly scheduled state legislative elections in 2025, making it one of the most watched “off-year” elections leading up to midterms next year. Voters will select all 100 members of the House of Delegates Tuesday, as well as the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Party control of the House especially will set the course of the battle for life in the largest southeastern state that has not enacted protections for unborn babies and mothers in the law after Dobbs – determining whether a proposal to enshrine third-trimester abortion and eliminate the rights of parents in the Virginia constitution will make it onto a future ballot.

As of Saturday, more than 1.4 million people have already voted early. But some races are thought to be very close, within polls’ margin of error. Scandal after scandal has plagued Democrats – including horrific allegations that school employees coerced students into abortions in Fairfax County – with former President Barack Obama intervening to try to close the deal for pro-abortion Abigail Spanberger, while Fox News reports donors funneled more than $1 million into pro-abortion Jay Jones’ campaign after the revelation that he wished death on Republican colleagues’ children.

Here are the stances of candidates in races we are monitoring.

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears called the reports out of Fairfax County “abhorrent” and praised Governor Glenn Youngkin for opening a state police investigation.

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Democrat Abigail Spanberger, asked point blank if minors need parental consent before having abortions, ignored the Fairfax scandal and pivoted to her support for the Democrats’ radical abortion amendment – calling it “almost identical” to amendments passed in Ohio and Michigan, which should sound alarm bells in every pro-life state in the country.

Republican John Reid went on offense when articulating his stance:

…I am pro-life. Virginia’s current law is more extreme than almost every other developed nation, allowing abortion late into pregnancy* — it goes too far. Day-of-birth abortion is wrong, and most Virginians agree we should protect unborn children once they can feel pain, while still showing compassion for mothers who feel this is their only choice. If elected, I would work to end painful late-term abortions and bring Virginia’s laws in line with common sense, decency, and compassion. My focus includes expanding support for mothers and strengthening adoption and childcare resources, so women are empowered with real choices. Virginia should not be the most extreme state — we can and must do better.

Reid issued a statement blasting Fairfax County schools:

If this report is true, every single person involved should be investigated, fired, and potentially prosecuted. These are minor children. Parents weren’t notified. And public school employees allegedly helped arrange abortions using tax-funded resources without parental consent or knowledge. That is not health care. That is government-sponsored abuse.

I don’t care how liberal Fairfax County wants to be; this crosses a line. Every parent in Virginia should be furious. And every elected official should be calling for an immediate investigation.

“This isn’t a partisan issue. Children’s safety and well-being is something we can all find common ground on. Even Ghazala Hashmi’s running mate Abigail Spanberger said parents matter. Does Hashmi agree? I am calling on Hashmi to put partisan politics aside and come together to demand we seek answers and justice for Virginia’s children.

Hashmi was a chief co-patron (co-sponsor) of the Democrats’ abortion amendment. Her answer:

Thanks to the disastrous Dobbs Supreme Court decision, my daughters and yours have fewer rights than their mothers did. I will never stop fighting for reproductive health care, including access to abortion and to contraception. I wrote the bill protecting contraception access and helped to draft language for our constitutional amendment protecting reproductive health care. My opponent, John Reid, said he would not have voted to protect abortion rights and does not care that Virginians do not agree with his extreme support for stricter abortion laws. As the last Southern state that has not severely restricted abortion access, we have a responsibility to ensure that all people have access to the safe and legal health care they need and deserve.

A 2023 poll by WPA Intelligence found 65% of likely Virginia voters opposed allowing abortion until the moment of birth and over 60% supported legislation to stop painful late-term abortions, with exceptions.

In a remarkable debate, the first time we’ve seen any candidate debate an AI model as a stand-in for an absent opponent, Reid dismantled Hashmi’s amendment:

Incumbent Republican Jason Miyares pointed out in a national TV interview, “A school district cannot even administer so much as an aspirin to your child during school hours without explicit parental permission” much less arrange and pay for abortions.

Democrat Jay Jones posted about abortion on X at least 20 times in a 5-month period, with a quarter of those posts coming after the exposure of his violent text messages to a Republican colleague. He produced three ads touting his support for abortion and/or attacking Republicans, including an endorsement from former Governor Ralph Northam, who described in an infamous interview how babies who survive abortions are left to die. During an hour-long debate against Miyares in October, Jones brought up abortion six times.

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Democrat May Nivar is also endorsed by Ralph Northam and has smeared pregnancy centers as “fake.” From the very beginning of her candidacy it was clear abortion on demand would be a top priority.

Democrat Jessica Anderson is endorsed by a slew of pro-abortion groups, some of which our readers have likely never even heard of. She is not on X but she does produce TikTok-style videos in which she curses and spreads misinformation about pro-life laws.

In a swing district outside of Richmond, Democrat Lindsey Dougherty prefers to couch her stance in terms of “reproductive rights,” but states that she “very much look[s] forward” to voting for the Democrats’ pro-abortion amendment.

Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams’ issue set includes “opposing any attempt to invoke obstacles to abortion,” echoing rhetoric on the Left that paints concerned parents as “barriers” to abortion on demand.

Incumbents Nadarius Clark and Michael Feggans are two of abortion giant Planned Parenthood’s self-proclaimed “Bros for Repro.”

(Unfortunately, yes, it’s real.)

SBA Pro-Life America/Women Speak Out Virginia 2025 canvassers have been on the ground in these and other key districts starting in June, working to reach 150,000 voters at their homes.

From what we see out in the field day after day, it’s clear voters are deeply troubled when they understand the true extremism of the agenda the Democrats have in store.