Virginia General Assembly Update – Week 3

Undeterred by the snow and ice, the General Assembly plowed ahead this week with lengthy committee hearings involving many bills on many topics. Here are key updates from our perspective.

VCC testimony: This week, we again testified in committee on a wide range of issues.

We testified AGAINST bills that would:

• Require health plans to cover IVF and embryo banking
• Grant minors a “right” to undergo sterilization procedures and obtain contraceptives
   

We testified FOR bills that would:

• Help faith-based organizations provide affordable housing in their communities
• Ban assault firearms
• Keep hospital workers safe from violence
• Make high-cost prescription drugs more affordable

Assisted suicide: In last week’s update, we highlighted the need to urge your legislators to oppose assisted suicide bills. It remains vitally important to weigh in with your representatives before this legislation is considered. Our alert provides a very easy and effective way to do this.  Take action now!

Update on ballot issues: This week, the General Assembly sped forward with bills to set the date and the wording of the ballot questions for the referenda on proposed constitutional amendments that would enshrine a “fundamental right” to abortion, remove the one-man/one-woman definition of marriage, and restore voting rights. These measures set November 3 as the date for each of these three referenda. 

The extraordinarily lopsided wording of the question voters will see when they decide on the abortion referendum was the subject of significant debate. Here is a floor speech by Delegate Wren Williams that contrasts the wording of the question – which says the amendment would “protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished” – with the actual wording of the amendment, which prevents “any individual” from being subject to legal consequences for aiding or assisting in an abortion. His remarks highlight just how misleading the wording of the question is.

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Pregnant and need help? Click here to find pregnancy resources offered by our two dioceses.

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In prayer and in public, your voices are urgently needed to bring Gospel values to bear on vital decisions being made by those who represent you.

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The Virginia Catholic Conference is the public policy agency representing Virginia’s Catholic bishops and their two dioceses.