Virginia’s bishops and pro-life advocates issued stark warnings Wednesday about a constitutional amendment they describe as an “extreme, radical, and deadly” measure that would enshrine virtually unlimited abortions at any stage of pregnancy, including up to birth, stripping away longstanding protections for the unborn.
The amendment, dubbed the “Unlimited Abortion up to Birth Amendment” by opponents and formally known as the Reproductive Freedom Act, cleared both chambers of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly in the 2025 legislative session.
It establishes a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” that essentially allows abortions up to birth with only flimsy limits on late-term abortions.
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Critics argue this language effectively nullifies any meaningful restrictions, removes age limits and safety standards, and threatens parental consent laws as well as conscience protections for health care workers who object to performing abortions.
“This amendment would allow virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy,” Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge and Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout wrote in a joint letter to Catholics across the state.
The measure’s passage marks the first of two required approvals by the legislature. It must clear both the House of Delegates and the Senate again in the 2026 session before appearing on the November 2026 ballot, where a simple majority of voters could ratify it.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a pro-life Republican, has no veto power over constitutional amendments.
The slim margins in both chambers — decided by a single vote — underscore the high stakes for the November 2025 elections, when all 100 House of Delegates seats, along with the governorship, lieutenant governorship and attorney general positions, will be on the line.
Pro-life groups see the vote as a pivotal opportunity to halt the amendment’s momentum.
“This is the best chance pro-life and other concerned Virginians have to stop this dreadful amendment that will remove all rational pro-life laws and prevent the passage of any new ones,” said Olivia Gans Turner, director of the Virginia Society for Human Life, in a statement urging immediate action. She called on residents to “educate their family and friends, their churches, and their organizations about just how extreme this amendment is,” emphasizing the need to elect a pro-life majority in the House to block it next year.
The bishops’ letter, released ahead of the elections, framed the amendment as a direct assault on core principles of human dignity.
“While every year in Virginia is an election year, this November’s elections are poised to have an outsized impact on our Commonwealth,” Burbidge and Knestout wrote, pointing to the proposal’s potential to “preempt any regulation of abortion whatsoever.”
They urged voters to “form [their] consciences and vote,” invoking Catholic teachings on the “dignity of the human person” and the “common good,” which they said compel opposition to abortion.
The Virginia Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s dioceses, labeled the amendment “extreme, radical, and deadly” in a voter guide, warning it would jeopardize existing safeguards and open the door to abortions without limits.
“With so much at stake, we must prepare to engage in this year’s critical voting decisions — through conscience formation, prayer, and fasting,” the bishops added. “United in the Eucharist, let us pray for one another and join together as active participants in promoting the common good.”
Pro-life legislators mounted fierce opposition during floor debates, though specific remarks were still being compiled by advocacy groups for public release. The push for the amendment came despite widespread public outcry, including hundreds of calls, emails and in-person visits from Virginians, as well as a January advocacy day that drew crowds to the Capitol.
In the gubernatorial race, Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has positioned herself as a bulwark against the radical abortion measure, opposing assisted suicide with the declaration, “We don’t want to be in the business of death,” and supporting legal protections for health care professionals who refuse to participate in abortions.
Her opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, supports abortion without limits and has opposed such conscience protections, according to a bishops’ candidate comparison.
Similar divides mark the lieutenant governor and attorney general contests, where Democratic candidates back abortion access while Republicans, including incumbent pro-life Attorney General Jason Miyares, have defended pro-life policies.
Turner stressed the urgency beyond the election: “As the 2025 session ends, we must face the fact that the most critical thing that happened this year was the passage of the so-called Reproductive Freedom Act, more accurately called the extreme ‘Unlimited Abortion Up-to-Birth’ Act. The harsh reality is that pro-life Virginians cannot sit back. We must get control of the House of Delegates if we are going to stop the agenda of pro-abortion organizations and promoters.”
