Va. House panel advances amendments on abortion rights, marriage equality and voting rights

A Democratic-led House of Delegates panel on Wednesday advanced three proposed constitutional amendments, including a revised measure seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s highest law. The new proposal would also require third-trimester abortions to be approved by one doctor instead of three, as the law currently mandates.

The 22-member House Privileges and Elections Committee further backed amendments to extend constitutional protections to marriage equality and the automatic restoration of voting rights for felons who have served their time.

“The right to love, the right to vote, the right to bodily autonomy and privacy, these are the very rights and freedoms that are crucial to the foundation of this commonwealth and this nation,” committee chair Del. Marcia Price, D-Newport News, said in a brief news conference Wednesday afternoon. “We showed up today to do our jobs and to do everything within our power to protect these rights and freedoms for all Virginians.”

The revised abortion amendment language in HJ1 shocked the committee’s Republican members, who only saw the changes after the meeting was already underway. Price called a five-minute recess to allow lawmakers to review the new language before deliberations and voting proceeded.



https://virginiamercury.com/2024/11/13/va-house-panel-advances-amendments-on-abortion-rights-marriage-equality-and-voting-rights/