The petition, addressed to Governor McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and the Virginia Senate, asks lawmakers to stop drafting bills petitioners say would limit women's access to reproductive health care, and focus on job creation and education. It has more than 11,000 signatures.

For one Henrico mother, signing a petition isn't enough. She's telling her two daughters attending college out of state not return to Virginia after graduation.

Judi Crenshaw says her daughters Gray, 21, and Emlyn, 19, will most likely start their careers out of the Commonwealth, partly because of opportunity, and partly because of what's happening in the General Assembly.

"Why would you want to make a contribution? Why would you want to build your life here?" Crenshaw said. "When this is the discussion that they're having, when it's not a place that treats women equally."