Governor Glenn Youngkin Amends Right to Contraception Legislation

Instead of codifying right in code, he dodges with a policy statement

 

Richmond, Va – Last night, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin sent down amendments to two bills that would have protected the right to contraception in Virginia. 

Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:

"Governor Glenn Youngkin squandered the opportunity to fully defend the reproductive freedoms of Virginians, despite widespread support within the commonwealth for protecting the right to contraception. This decision to make them into section one bills disregards the crucial nature of contraception, not just for family planning, but as essential health care. The freedom to choose whether to use an IUD, implant, condoms, or pills is a deeply personal one. Yet, this fundamental right faces unprecedented threats. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we have seen efforts to undermine this basic health care right. Governor Youngkin's failure to sign the Right to Contraception Act into law is a missed opportunity to affirm Virginia's values and ensure that all individuals have the right to the contraception they need.

Virginians do not deserve to live with the uncertainty and chaos that comes with regular attacks to essential health care. Governor Youngkin’s vetoes underscore the need for a constitutional amendment for reproductive freedom that would ensure that politicians cannot take the Commonwealth backwards by restricting or banning essential reproductive health care in Virginia.”

Bills amended:

SB237 (Hashmi)/HB609 (Price): These bills would have protected the right to access contraception. Despite overwhelming public support, the constitutional right to contraception is being targeted by a range of candidates and policymakers who oppose reproductive health care, and indeed by the U.S. Supreme Court itself. In his concurring opinion of Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas voiced support for overturning the constitutional right to contraception – a right established in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965. This legislation passed on a party-line vote in the Senate and received bipartisan support in the House of Delegates.

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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAV) is a statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to preserve and broaden access to reproductive health care through legislation, public education, electoral activity and litigation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. PPAV works to ensure that individuals and families have the freedom, information, and ability to make their own informed reproductive choices.