Virginia House moves measures to protect abortion, same-sex marriage, voting rights

By Seraina Caviezel and Juliet Zuker, Richmond Capital News Service

The Virginia House passed three Constitutional amendment resolutions Jan. 14 that could significantly reshape state policy on abortion, voting rights and same-sex marriage.

The measures proposed by Democrats, HJ 1, HJ 2, and HJ 9, passed largely by party lines though Republican lawmakers voted in support of HJ2 and HJ9. All three proposals still must pass the Senate during this year’s session and be approved in both chambers before they will be on the ballot next year. 

HJ1, sponsored by Del. Charniele L. Herring, D-Alexandria, guarantees the fundamental right to abortion and reproductive freedom.

Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, spoke against the abortion amendment on the House floor. She questioned whether the amendment would override Virginia’s existing parental notification law for minors seeking abortion.

“This is not a political issue, this is a deeply personal one that affects families in many ways. I am required to be present at every one of my children’s doctors appointments today, from everything as mundane as a cold to annual routine physicals, yet this amendment would allow my daughter and countless others like her to make a decision that could change the course of her life without ever consulting me,” she said.

Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Stafford, is strongly in support.

“Extreme is forcing a woman to carry a fetus inside of them that is gone,” King said. “This resolution will go to the voters, mothers, daughters, women.” 

Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, raised questions about the amendment’s consistency with the existing abortion law in Virginia’s code. 

Currently, abortions in the third trimester must be approved by three doctors if pregnancy is “likely to result in the death of the woman or substantially and irremediably impair the mental or physical health of the woman,” according to Virginia law. The proposed amendment would reduce that number to one, but still allows the Commonwealth to “regulate the provision of abortion care in the third trimester.”

“This is not consistent with code language in that it will completely override all code language the minute it becomes part of our state constitution,” Gilbert said. “This doesn’t embody state law in the least.”

In a speech on the House floor, Herring said this amendment is consistent with code. She mentioned laws that restrict access to abortion in other states and said similar measures have been proposed in Virginia.

“Women die because doctors are not able to provide the healthcare that will protect them,” Herring said. 

HJ 2, sponsored by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria, aims to restore voting rights to those who were incarcerated for a felony conviction after they are finished with their sentence.

Del. Paul V. Milde, R-Stafford, voiced opposition, drawing from his experience of a felony drug possession charge at age 18, which resulted in jail time and the loss of his civil rights. 

“I know a little bit about what it means to lose your civil rights because of bad choices,” Milde said. “The good news is that I was able to go through a lengthy and deliberate process regaining my rights.”

Milde said he believes in second chances but criticized the proposal for failing to hold those accountable and responsible for their actions.

“There is a significant difference between serving your sentence and making a conscious decision to turn your life around,” he said. “I stand firmly, obviously in favor of redemption and forgiveness, but this proposal goes too far, way too far.” 

Other delegates raised concerns that the resolution does not consider the crime victims and their families. 

“I support the idea of a statutory rights restoration procedure. I believe a fair justice system is one in which a defense attorney can sit down with his client and explain before he goes to trial exactly what steps it would take and exactly how long it would take to have their civil rights restored,” said Del. Chris Obenshain, R-Roanoke. “What I cannot support, however, is a scheme that completely ignores the rights of crime victims as this resolution does.”

Del. Marcia S. Price, D-Newport News, offered support for the proposal, explaining how relevant and important it is to the future of convicted felons. 

“Let’s go to the present. In six days a convicted felon will become the president of this nation, and we sit here and say no Virginians, you wait for the whims of an individual with inconsistent religious principles to decide whether or not you deserve your right. I cannot imagine the emotion that that would bring to an individual that has served their time waiting to be reintegrated fully into society,” she said. 

HJ9, introduced by Del. Mark D. Sickles, D-Fairfax, removes language from Section 15-A in the Constitution of Virginia that defines marriage exclusively as a union between one man and one woman. 

“The threat is [that] one of our Supreme Court justices suggested that maybe they needed to relook at Obergefell v. Hodges,” Sickles said. 

Obergefell v. Hodges is a U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage. If the decision were to be reversed, same-sex marriage would become illegal in Virginia under the current constitution.

“If you think any precedent in the federal Constitution that protects individual rights is safe, I would remind you just to look back a couple of years when fundamental rights that have been secured for 50 years in this country were overturned in a single decision,” added Del. Marcus B. Simon, D-Fairfax referencing the overturn of Roe v. Wade. 

Del. Thomas A. Garrett, Jr., R-Buckingham, expressed concerns about government overreach. 

“Real tyranny is not created when one group of people defines a word differently than another group of people,” he said. “Real tyranny is created when the government compels individuals to behave in a manner inconsistent with their core values.” 

Sickles clarified that the amendment protects religious organizations and clergy from having to officiate any marriage.