by Brandon Jarvis
The House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced an amendment Wednesday to enshrine the right to an abortion into the Virginia Constitution.
The proposal passed on a party-line 12-9 vote.
Related: Read the full amendment proposal here.
The proposed amendment, HJ 1, sponsored by Del. Charniele Herring, D-Fairfax, that the committee advanced on Wednesday was a substitute.
The substitute was not online for the legislators to read until halfway through the committee meeting.
Republicans complained about the minimal time they were given to read the substitute – noting that moving on this legislation today does not speed up the process of amending the constitution at all.
Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, asked for a 30-minute recess to review the updated legislation.
Chair Marcia Price, D-Newport News, gave the delegates five minutes to read the new language.
VIDEO: Del. @mikecherryforva asks for 30 minutes to review the Constitutional amendment the committee was just handed.
— Virginia House GOP (@vahousegop) November 13, 2024
Chair @DelCiaPrice85 gave 5, "because I know you to be a quick reader." pic.twitter.com/D6FVDb9261
Price later addressed the Republicans’ questions about the urgency of moving on this today during a press conference.
“This meeting was an important next step considering the moment in history we find ourselves in,” she said.
There was some confusion about whether this amendment would stand up, specifically regarding parental notification. The committee’s legal counsel said there is not a clear answer and that the United States Supreme Court could potentially become involved.
“We are not passing ideas here, we are passing laws,” said House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. “To do it this quickly, this is the only scrutiny that will be given to this amendment. Once it gets going, it’s not going to change.”
The amendment would also reduce the number of physicians to sign off on a third-trimester abortion from three to one.
Herring said during a press conference that this is because of how hard it is to find three physicians in some parts of the commonwealth to sign off on the abortion, which would only be happening in the third trimester due to a health complication for the mother during what is often an urgent situation..
The amendment proposal will now be heard by the full House of Delegates chamber during the legislative session that begins in January.
Constitutional amendments must be passed by both chambers of the General Assembly twice, with a House election in between, before going to Virginia voters for a final vote of approval.
House elections take place in November of 2025.
The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.
The committee also advanced HJ 9, sponsored by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, that would remove the language from the Virginia Constitution stating that a marriage is only between a man and a woman.
That section of the Constitution and other related provisions are no longer valid due to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which allowed for same-sex marriage across the country.