Virginia Senate Democrats Block Abortion Ban in Committee
For Immediate Release: Feb. 10, 2022 (Updated: Feb. 10, 2022, 7:28 p.m.)
SB710 was defeated in the Senate Education and Health Committee by 9-6 vote
Richmond, Va. – This morning, Democrats on the Senate Education and Health Committee defeated a dangerous 20-week abortion ban. By a 9-6 vote, the committee opted not to report SB710, a 20-week abortion ban introduced by Senator Amanda Chase, thus stopping the bill from advancing to the Senate floor.
Statement from Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:
“We’re grateful that Chair Lucas and Senate Democrats defeated this harmful abortion ban, which would have prevented Virginians from accessing essential health care. Like all abortion restrictions, this ban was designed to deny people power over their own bodies, lives, and futures and would have been devastating for patients. Planned Parenthood trusts Virginians to make their own decisions about their health care in consultation with their trusted providers – not politicians. While we celebrate the defeat of this harmful bill, we also know that the constitutional right to abortion is at greater risk than ever before, and our fight is not over.”
Virginians Support Legal Abortion
Support for abortion remains high, and polling has found that 79 percent of Virginians support legal abortion. Still, anti-abortion politicians will continue their attempts to restrict abortion until it is completely out of reach – and the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that the days of legal and accessible abortion across the country may be numbered. If the Supreme Court erases nearly 50 years of precedent by overturning or dismantling Roe v. Wade, state politicians will have the green light to control people’s personal reproductive decisions as soon as this summer. Without Roe’s protections, Virginians’ rights to bodily autonomy are at the mercy of our General Assembly.
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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