Unlimited Abortion Amendment Facts
The Unlimited Abortion Amendment, or as passed in the General Assembly, the Fundamental Reproductive Freedom Act, removes protections in place for safe reproductive health.
What Our Representatives are Saying
There is agreement that Virginia's current laws are very expansive on abortion access and that they are likely to stay that way. There is no expected threat to change that in the Virginia General Assembly.
Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D)
In 2020, McClellan’s Reproductive Health Protection Act was enacted. She proudly announced, “Abortion is legal. It is more accessible than it has been before, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
Rep. Delores Oates (R)
"Abortion is legal in Virginia. No Republican rollback has passed. No restrictions enacted. No bans loom."
Rep. Tran Kathy (D)
“Abortion is currently legal in Virginia, and I will never give up the fight to keep Virginia a safe haven for abortion care.”
Unlimited Abortion Amendment
A risky proposition for the women and girls of Virginia
Voting 'NO' on the Unlimited Abortion Amendment maintains our current laws on abortion access.
Abortion is legal in Virginia throughout all nine months of pregnancy with only a few regulations in the final 3 months to ensure the woman’s safety.
Abortions are widely accessible across Virginia at clinics, hospitals, private doctor offices and access to online abortion drugs.
This amendment will prevent any reasonable oversite by our elected officials creating risks for women and protecting abortion promoters.
What is the official name of the Amendment?
The Constitutional Amendment was introduced as the “Fundamental Right to Reproductive Freedom”. The bill numbers in 2026 were HJ1 & SJ1, providing “that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about all matters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, or otherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individual for exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom or for aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unless justified by a compelling state interest.”
Why is this language in the amendment a problem?
Reproductive Freedom is legal code for the Right-to-Abortion. The courts could certainly interpret this amendment as allowing an unfettered, unregulated right-to-abortion for any reason and at any time in pregnancy. Other states that have passed similar amendments have seen all their safe reproductive health laws overturned.
The Amendment will overturn these existing safe, reproductive health laws that currently protect women and girls in Virginia:
- Removes necessary provisions that protect women seeking care when they get pregnant
- Allows non-doctors to prescribe abortion drugs and perform abortions
- Threatens removal of Virginia's sensible parental notice law that protects minor girls
- Interferes with oversite by lawmakers to ensure that standards of care are being followed in Virginia by abortion providers
- Prevents prosecution of those who are unqualified and unlicensed to perform abortions even if they cause harm to a woman
- Requires taxpayer funding of abortions
Who is the lead sponsor of this amendment?
During the 2026 General Assembly session, the lead patron in the House was Delegate Charniele Herring (D) HD4 and in the State Senate was Senator Jennifer Boysko (D) SD38.
What is the timeline for this amendment?
- A resolution supporting the Constitutional Amendment passed both the State Senate and the House of Delegates during the same legislative session. (Spring 2025)
- A general election for the House of Delegates was held in between. (Fall 2025)
- The exact same resolution passed the State Senate and the House of Delegates during the next session after the election. (January 2026)
- The resolution is voted on as a ballot referendum. If, a majority of those voting favor the amendment, the amendment will be added to the Virginia Constitution. The vote by the public is scheduled by the General Assembly. (Coming this Fall 2026)