RICHMOND, VA – One year ago this past weekend, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with their infamous decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. The Dobbs decision opened the floodgates for GOP extremists across the country who have sought for decades to ban abortion. 

What women have long feared has come to pass since the Dobbs decision. Repressive laws are being proposed in state after state and every state in the Southern United States has passed the GOP’s ban on abortion – except Virginia.

“Thanks to Virginia Democrats’ hard work, Virginians continue to have access to the reproductive healthcare they need,” said DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker. “Our legislators have stopped multiple far-right bans from harming the women of our commonwealth. That’s what’s at stake this November: if Republicans retake the General Assembly, it will empower Governor Youngkin and his acolytes to fulfill his promise to sign ‘any’ abortion ban. It’s up to us to protect choice this year.”

On the campaign trail, Youngkin was careful to conceal his opinion on abortion, and was even caught on tape saying he had to lie to voters about his plans for a statewide ban, or risk losing independent voters.

Once in office, however, Youngkin has been anything but moderate on abortion. In an online forum last summer, he announced he would sign “any bill that comes to [his] desk” to ban abortion in the Commonwealth “happily and gleefully.”

This pledge to sign “any bill” presumably includes the three bills killed by Senate Democrats during the 2023 General Assembly session. One proposed by GOP Delegate Marie March would have banned abortion in the Commonwealth entirely, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

“Virginia voters know they can depend on Democrats to fight to defend their right to choose, tooth and nail,” said DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker. 

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