Virginia voters will soon determine the commonwealth's course on abortion
Last year’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which effectively overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, dramatically changed how women access reproductive health services, including abortion.
Virginia is one of only two states that doesn’t codify access to abortion in its constitution and didn’t have a law on the books set to take effect when Roe fell. That puts the issue front and center on the ballot in November, when voters should protect reproductive health choices for women throughout the commonwealth.
Though the pro-life movement had fought for the court to overturn Roe for decades, when those efforts proved successful last year, it created a cloud of uncertainty about the future of abortion services in America.
The Roe decision rested on the conclusion that the Due Process Clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment includes a right to privacy, which supersedes state restrictions on abortion services. Dobbs, conversely, says there is no such right and punted the issue back to individual states.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/08/12/editorial-virginia-voters-will-soon-determine-the-commonwealths-course-on-abortion/