Virginia
Not Protected
Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe:
Abortion will remain accessible in Virginia, but without legal protection. In 2020, Virginia repealed numerous medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion access.
Restrictions
Virginia law generally prohibits abortion after viability, unless performed by a licensed physician in a licensed hospital with three physicians certifying that the continuation of the pregnancy will result in death of the pregnant person or impair their mental or physical health.[1]VA. CODE ANN. §§ 18.2-71, 18.2-74 It also prohibits the D&X method of abortion.[2]Id. § 18.2-71.1. Virginia also limits public funding for abortion.[3]Id. §§ 32.1-92.1-92.2. Virginia law generally requires that a parent or “authorized person” be notified prior to a minor’s abortion[4]Id. § 16.1-241(w). and consent to it.[5]Id. Alternatively, a judge can approve a minor’s petition.[6]Id.
Virginia’s targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws include requirements related to facilites,[7]Id. § 18.2-73; Va. Admin. Code § 5-412-370 (repealed 2020). which are enjoined,[8]Falls Church Med. Ctr., LLC v. Oliver, 412 F. Supp. 3d 668, 705 (E.D. Va. 2019). reporting.[9]VA. CODE ANN. § 32.1-264. Providers who violate Virginia abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.[10]See, e.g., id. §§ 18.2-71-71.1
State Protections
Virginia law does not include express constitutional or statutory protections for abortion. To the contrary, in 2017, Virginia enacted House Resolution 268 indicating its policy preference to ban abortion to the fullest by designating January 22 as the “Day of Tears” in the state to mourn the anniversary of Roe.[11]H.R. 268, 2017 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2017). On this day, Virginia citizens are “encouraged to lower their flags to half-staff to mourn the innocents who have lost their lives to abortion.”[12]Id. However, in 2020 Virginia enacted the Reproductive Health Protection Act, repealing several TRAP provisions, removing a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period and biased counseling requirement, and authorizing physicians and certain advance practice clinicians (APCs) to provide abortion care.[13]S.B. 733, H.B. 980, 2020 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2020) (codified as amended at Va. Code Ann. §§ 18.2-72, 18.2-76). In 2021, Virginia passed a law that removes a prohibition on state exchange insurance coverage of abortion.[14]S.B. 1276, H.B. 1896, 2021 Gen. Assemb., Spec. Sess. (Va. 2021) (to be codified as amended at Va. Code Ann. § 38.2-3451). Virginia protects clinic safety by prohibiting trespassing.[15]Id. § 18.2-119; see also Nat’l Org. for Women v. Operation Rescue, 726 F. Supp. 1483, 1495–96 (E.D. Va. 1989), rev’d in part sub nom. Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, … Continue reading
Post-Roe Prohibitions
Virginia repealed its pre-Roe ban in 1975.[16]VA. CODE ANN. §18.1-62 et seq. (1971), repealed by 1975 Va. Acts 18, ch. 14, §1, ch. 15, §1. Text of the restriction found in note 1, see Russo v. Commonwealth, 207 Va. 251, 252, 148 S.E.2d 820, … Continue reading
Conclusion
Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, abortion will remain accessible in Virginia, but without legal protection. In 2020, Virginia repealed numerous medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion access.
References
↑1 | VA. CODE ANN. §§ 18.2-71, 18.2-74 |
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↑2 | Id. § 18.2-71.1. |
↑3 | Id. §§ 32.1-92.1-92.2. |
↑4 | Id. § 16.1-241(w). |
↑5 | Id. |
↑6 | Id. |
↑7 | Id. § 18.2-73; Va. Admin. Code § 5-412-370 (repealed 2020). |
↑8 | Falls Church Med. Ctr., LLC v. Oliver, 412 F. Supp. 3d 668, 705 (E.D. Va. 2019). |
↑9 | VA. CODE ANN. § 32.1-264. |
↑10 | See, e.g., id. §§ 18.2-71-71.1 |
↑11 | H.R. 268, 2017 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2017). |
↑12 | Id. |
↑13 | S.B. 733, H.B. 980, 2020 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2020) (codified as amended at Va. Code Ann. §§ 18.2-72, 18.2-76). |
↑14 | S.B. 1276, H.B. 1896, 2021 Gen. Assemb., Spec. Sess. (Va. 2021) (to be codified as amended at Va. Code Ann. § 38.2-3451). |
↑15 | Id. § 18.2-119; see also Nat’l Org. for Women v. Operation Rescue, 726 F. Supp. 1483, 1495–96 (E.D. Va. 1989), rev’d in part sub nom. Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, 506 U.S. 263 (1993). |
↑16 | VA. CODE ANN. §18.1-62 et seq. (1971), repealed by 1975 Va. Acts 18, ch. 14, §1, ch. 15, §1. Text of the restriction found in note 1, see Russo v. Commonwealth, 207 Va. 251, 252, 148 S.E.2d 820, 822 (1966). |