RICHMOND, Va. — After over three hours of debate and testimony, the Democrat-led House Privileges & Elections Committee approved three resolutions that could change Virginia's constitution on issues of marriage, voting rights, and abortion access.
The latter was the resolution that took up the most time.
Afterward, Democrats said they were taking steps to protect access after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
"Since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs, we have seen some states enact dangerous abortion bans that have endangered the lives of women," Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) said.
However, Republicans say it goes further than Virginia's current laws and removes protections for the unborn -- and criticized Democrats for changing the language in the legislation without giving them time to understand it.
"I think we still don't know, other than it's pretty clear that this is a pretty extreme version of efforts to protect abortion that goes well beyond what has been done in other states," Minority Leader Todd Gilbert (R) said.
The legislation says every person has a fundamental right to their reproductive freedom, and the state shall not infringe on that unless it has a compelling interest.
It defines that as maintaining or improving the health of the person seeking care, consistent with clinical standards.
In Virginia, abortions are currently allowed through the second trimester, and in the third if three doctors agree to save the life or well-being of the mother.
The bill would remove the requirement for more than one doctor.
Regarding the other legislation discussed, one would automatically restore felons' voting rights after serving their time in prison.
Supporters said Virginia is the only state that doesn't have that process in place, instead requiring people to petition the Governor, with the success rate of that depending on the administration.
"A system that gives one person, the sole authority to restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated citizens is untenable," a Virginia resident said.
Critics of the plan raised concerns that the language in the resolution would mean people convicted of felonies who aren't sentenced to prison time and only have probation or pay restitution, would never lose their right to vote.
"Yes, we want people to have their rights back, but they have to pay back their victims. They'll feel better about themselves. The victims will feel better about themselves, and I think that's a reasonable course of action," another Virginia resident chimed in.
Meanwhile, the third piece of legislation, which passed with some bipartisan support, would say marriage is a fundamental right and remove language that it is only between a man and a woman.
Regardless of the topic, Republicans say Democrats are breaking precedent by holding these hearings outside of the General Assembly's regular session and their chamber will not have anymore public hearings on the issue.
"Something this important, this impactful, literally, life and death decisions. I don't think I've ever seen anything push through this fast," Gilbert said.
But Democrats said they are trying to meet a deadline and following agreed-upon rules and lawmakers would get a chance to debate the bills on the floor.
"They still have that opportunity. There's nothing that has changed about our legislative process, and so I would not get distracted by that," Delegate Cia Price said. "Our process is long. We have an entire legislative process, just like any other committee."
The legislation does have to pass the Senate of Virginia, which would hold public hearings.
While this was the start of the process, several more steps need to happen before voters would get a chance to weigh-in.
Constitutional amendments require a legislation be passed in two General Assembly sessions separated by an election for the House of Delegates. With those elections taking place in November 2025, the earliest that Virginia voters could see these as ballot questions would be in the November 2026 elections.
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