Virginia voters approved an amendment to the commonwealth’s constitution that establishes a right to reproductive health care, including abortion, even as the measure is already headed into court. The vote came during the midterm election, when Virginians also approved constitutional changes on voting rights and same-sex marriage.
The result gives the amendment legal force on paper, but not certainty in practice. A challenge to the reproductive health care measure will be heard on Nov. 13, a reminder that the fight over abortion in Virginia is shifting from the ballot to the courtroom as the commonwealth tries to lock new protections into its constitution.
That broader election also carried weight in Congress. Mark Warner won reelection, while Democratic Reps. James Walkinshaw, Don Beyer and Suhas Subramanyam all ran successful reelection campaigns to the U.S. House. Eugene Vindman also won reelection in the 7th District, with 59.65% of the vote to Douglas Ollivant’s 37.8% with 96% of total votes counted. Walkinshaw, who was first elected last year in a special election to fill a seat vacated by Gerry Connolly, took 71.48% to Arthur Purves’ 26.61% with 56% of total votes counted.
The legal challenge leaves the amendment in an unusual place: approved by voters, but not beyond dispute. Its exact reach is broad enough to matter statewide because it writes a right to reproductive health care, including abortion, into the constitution, yet its future now depends on how the court treats the challenge next week. For now, Virginia has voted for the change; the question is whether the law will clear the next barrier.
