I was honored to be the Democratic nominee for the 32nd District of the House of Delegates in 2025. While running, I made very clear that I was doing so as a pro-life Democrat. I went to great pains to make clear that my definition of “pro-life” meant being steadfast in defense of the dignity of all human beings, something that neither party is consistently doing in our present age.
I was often asked how I would vote on the proposed amendment [Virginia Reproductive Freedom Amendment, set for the Nov. 3, 2026] to the Virginia Constitution that would enshrine an essentially unlimited right to abortion. I answered then that I would vote no, something that I know greatly troubled many of my supporters. I am writing today to renew my pledge, as a citizen and not a candidate, to vote against this unnecessary and dangerous amendment, and I urge my fellow Virginians to do the same.
Get the latest pro-life news and information on X (Twitter). Follow @LifeNewsHQ
A 2020 Pew Research study showed that 3 in 10 Democrats disagree with our party’s extreme position on abortion. To those 30% of Democrats in Virginia who feel that way, I urge you to remember this when you enter the voting booth this November. We can stand with our party in its urgent and courageous attempts to combat racism, fund our education system, ensure healthcare as a human right; we can, and should, stand against this most dangerous and morally bankrupt of presidential administrations; none of these things requires that we surrender our belief that life begins at conception and that every single human being is endowed with infinite dignity and value. We need not give up our belief that government should protect human life from conception to natural death, and at every point in between.
The proposed amendment is radical and unnecessary. Abortion access is already widely available throughout the Commonwealth. This amendment would so tie the hands of the state government as to deter it from even properly regulating safety standards in abortion clinics or ensuring that abortion access is not aiding and protecting human traffickers and sexual abusers. It enshrines in the Constitution of our historic state the right to terminate a pregnancy in the first two trimesters for any reason and allows only the vaguest of regulations in the third.
I am fully aware of how unpopular my position is within my party. But I am not speaking to the party activists at this moment. I am speaking to all people of goodwill, who feel deep within them an unease with unlimited abortion; those people who believe that a child is a miracle and gift, whether they are wanted or not, whether they have Down syndrome or not, whatever the color of their skin or the economic circumstances of their parents; that each and every one of them deserves to live. We must do more to support mothers and babies after birth, something I urge my Republican friends to remember when discussing economic policy. But we must also vote no on this unnecessary amendment.
LifeNews Note: Jonathan Lucci is a resident of Winchester. This column originally appeared in the Winchester Star.
