Governor Glenn Youngkin Vetoes Four Reproductive Health Care Bills

Richmond, Va – Today, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed four reproductive health care bills. Two would have protected abortion care providers’ licenses and two would have protected those assisting with abortion from extradition. 

 

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

"We are deeply disappointed by Governor Youngkin's decision to veto this legislation aimed at protecting health care professionals who provide essential, time-sensitive abortion care. These bills represented a vital safeguard against the overreach of hostile states into our commonwealth, ensuring that those who provide abortion care can continue their work without fear of unwarranted penalties from out-of-state actors. These bills would have ensured that Virginia law governs what happens in Virginia. By vetoing these bills and failing to take an important stand against overzealous prosecution, the Governor has sent a discouraging message to Virginia health care professionals dedicated to reproductive rights and to the patients that rely on the availability of essential health services.

It's critical that our policymakers leverage every opportunity to protect access to abortion, ensuring it remains accessible for Virginians and for our neighbors seeking refuge from restrictive laws in their own states. Governor Youngkin's vetoes are particularly disheartening for Virginians who are already concerned about their access to reproductive health care, exacerbating fears and uncertainties during already challenging times.

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.”

Two recent polls show that a majority of Virginians support amending the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights. A CNU Wason Center poll showed 62% in support and a recent poll from Virginia Commonwealth University showed that the majority of Virginians (57%) would support a ballot referendum protecting abortion rights.

 

Bills vetoed:

SB15 (Favola)/HB1539 (Simon): This legislation aimed to mitigate the risk of extradition against those assisting with and providing abortion care to patients from our commonwealth and elsewhere. It is critical that our legislators take every available opportunity to protect patients and providers from criminalization as a result of extreme anti-abortion laws in other states.
 

SB716 (Carroll Foy)/HB519 (King): These bills would have helped ensure that those who provide legal abortion care can maintain licensure in Virginia. Individual lawmakers in hostile states have suggested they would be interested in cross-border enforcement. This bill would have helped to protect a health care provider’s license in Virginia if they faced penalties from a hostile state for the provision of abortion. 

 

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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.