He’s back: Dick Black epitomizes anti-choice candidates

We know that women’s health is in jeopardy across the US and in Virginia. Our state General Assembly, along with Governor Bob McDonnell’s administration and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, are working hard to roll back reproductive rights for the women of Virginia.

Instead of looking forward, we are forced to look back. And when we look back, we see a familiar and unwelcome sight from the past coming back into the picture: former House of Delegates member Dick Black.

As reported in yesterday’s Washington Times:

[Dick] Black, a staunchly conservative former state delegate who notably irked colleagues in 2003 by passing out plastic fetuses before a crucial abortion vote, has moved — again — to run in the Aug. 23 Republican primary race for an open Virginia Senate seat in Prince William and Loudoun counties. […]

After winning a House seat in 1998, Mr. Black unsuccessfully pushed for a measure that would have required doctors to administer anesthesia to fetuses prior to later-term abortions and another that tried to effectively ban gay people from adopting children in Virginia.

He did manage to shepherd through legislation requiring parental consent for abortions performed on minors before he lost his seat to Democrat David E. Poisson in 2005.

Yes, that’s right: Mr. Black is infamous for having once sent plastic fetuses to Virginia lawmakers to show his opposition to abortion. He spent most of his time in office pursuing legislation to limit a woman’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care. From 2003 to 2005 alone, he pursued at least 18 bills limiting reproductive choice including bills granting constitutional rights to fetuses, singling out abortion providers for burdensome new regulations and a bill requiring minors provide parental consent before obtaining abortion care. Unfortunately, that parental consent requirement that significantly restricts the ability of young women to access abortion is now law.

Dick Black and anti-choice politicians like him can do a lot of damage to Virginia women’s health and reproductive rights in the General Assembly. After undermining women’s health this past General Assembly session, anti-choice politicians in Virginia are feeling bold and looking to maintain control of the House of Delegates and take control of the state Senate. If they manage to topple the Senate, women’s health in Virginia could be set back for years or decades to come. Dick Black is just one of dozens of strongly anti-choice candidates running for General Assembly all across Virginia this year, not to mention the many anti-choice incumbents running for re-election.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia is fighting back. We’re educating voters about everything that’s at stake in this election and letting them know about candidates’ positions on the full range of issues that encompass reproductive choice.

And most importantly, we’re working to get out the pro-choice vote! Are you ready to vote? The primaries are on Tuesday, August 23^rd, with the general election on Tuesday, November 8^th. Check out the political updates page on our website to get details about when and where to vote, and share that information with your pro-choice friends, family members and neighbors to make sure they’ll be getting out to vote as well! And keep checking back to get the latest news on how you can help protect women’s health during this integral statewide election.

Senator Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax

Welcome back to our new, regular blog series, Virginia Political Pro(choice)files. In this segment, we highlight Virginia’s state politicians who support and fight for women’s reproductive rights while also drawing attention to politicians who are working to undermine the constitutional right to safe and legal abortion. To see how all General Assembly members stacked up in 2011, check out our Legislative Scorecard!

The Political Pro(choice)files: Senator Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax

By Brooke

Senator Dave Marsden is represents Senate District 37, which contains parts of Fairfax County. In addition to his great work on the issue of youth gangs, he has been a constant supporter of women’s health since his election in 2010.

He has supported reproductive choice in Virginia as both a delegate and a state senator.

Senator Marsden worked as the head of the state Department of Juvenile Justice before taking a seat in the Virginia Senate. He is a strong supporter of the best interests of Virginia women, children and families. During this past General Assembly session, he voiced his support for women’s health when he spoke out on the Senate floor against a bill that proposed to regulate abortion providers as a category of hospital. In his inspired speech, Marsden declared:

“In my lifetime there was a constitutional right to vote, but we put obstacles here in Virginia and all throughout Southern states to put an obstacle to people exercising that constitutional right to vote: Poll taxes, literacy tests, of course the argument was well of course we don’t want people voting on that which they don’t understand… I think you need to be careful here how we vote on this and what we’re identifying with…”

This comparison is striking: placing unnecessary barriers in front of citizens attempting to exercise constitutional rights could have dangerous consequences for future generations. The fact is, TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) are limiting the constitutional rights of Virginia women.

Because of his solid stance on reproductive choice issues, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia awarded Senator Marsden a pro-choice rating of 100 percent for the 2011 legislative session. The support of Senator Marsden and other pro-choice allies in the Virginia General Assembly is absolutely crucial. There is a war on women in our state and across the country, and we must maintain our pro-choice champions in Richmond to fight back and protect women’s healthcare.

For more voter information, check out the Virginia State Board of Elections website. Regardless of where you live, all Virginia voters should remember that the general election will be held on November 8^th.

Senator Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk

Welcome back to our new, regular blog series, Virginia Political Pro(choice)files. In this segment, we highlight Virginia’s state politicians who support and fight for women’s reproductive rights while also drawing attention to politicians who are working to undermine the constitutional right to safe and legal abortion. To see how all General Assembly members stacked up in 2011, check out our Legislative Scorecard!

The Political Pro(choice)files: Senator Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk

As a representative for Norfolk in the Virginia General Assembly, Ralph Northam has been an ally of women and a great advocate for comprehensive sexual education throughout his four years in office. He was first elected in 2007 and will be running in a very competitive election this November.

Ralph Northam was one of three Virginia state senators involved in proposing legislation in 2010 to reign in the bad habits of Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Northam, along with Senator Craig Deeds, Senator John Edwards, and Senator Dave Marsden, proposed a bill to regulate Virginia’s Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs)—regulations that would include a notice on the buildings stating that the facilities are not licensed, comprehensive healthcare centers. This bill went on to require that the facility include in the posted notice that it does not perform or refer women for abortions or contraception and that the facility is not required to adhere to confidentiality laws in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

As a pediatric neurologist, Northam knows that providing misleading and inaccurate medical information to women is dangerous and inappropriate. Women need to know that many CPCs have no obligation to respect their privacy.

Senator Northam, along with Delegates Charniele Herring and David Englin, participated in a press conference following the release of our research project exposing CPCs and showed nothing but support for women in need of accurate information in the midst of a difficult decision:

It is extremely important that these young women are able to seek medical advice that is in their best interest of their health … it’s important for women that seek advice from these centers to know what they offer and what they don’t offer and that’s exactly what this bill is intended to do. The bill, I think, will insure that expectant women will receive what I consider factual-based medical information and be able to make decisions that are in the best interest of their health.

The proposed bill also included a section prohibiting any CPC in violation of the prior regulations from receiving any funds derived from the Virginia Choose Life Fund license plates.

Although the bill was passed by indefinitely, it was successful in bringing some much needed attention to the issues surrounding CPCs.

In the last session of the General Assembly, Senator Northam also patroned SB 967, a bill that requires Virginia school districts to teach medically accurate and evidence-based programs that fall under the guidelines of Family Life Education. Although this bill passed in the Senate, it was unfortunately “left to die” in the House Committee on Education.

Clearly, Northam has shown that he is a strong supporter of women’s rights and his medical background gives him a solid perspective in regards to bills that involve women’s health.

Freedom doesn’t come free…

By Leigh

Last week, we saw that, according to a George Mason University Mercatus Center study entitled, “Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom,” Virginia is the ninth overall freest state in the nation. Furthermore, it is the fifth in economic freedom and 22^nd in personal freedom.

In the article, “Virginia ranked 9^th in overall freedom,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch states that, “policies were weighted on how much they matter to those affected, and how many people they affect.” But how did the study judge who was affected? According to Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, the list of “those affected” did not encompass all Virginians. Willis says, “freedom is only meaningful if it applies equally to all, and that’s where Virginia falls short.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia believes there are still many Virginians, especially Virginia women, who are continually experiencing restricted freedom. Governor McDonnell, Lt. Governor Bolling, Attorney General Cuccinelli, and a majority of state legislators are completely anti-choice. Having a choice equates to having freedom; therefore, it makes sense that Virginia is only 22^nd in personal freedom. Governor McDonnell’s administration and their legislative allies have successfully passed numerous laws that prohibit a women’s freedom to full healthcare access.

In the 2010 legislative session, Virginia prohibited public funding for abortion for those women who are eligible for state medical assistance, except if the woman’s life is in danger or in the case of rape or incest. The 2011 session also provided an abundance of proposed anti-choice legislation. Two bills would have limited private insurance plans from providing abortion coverage (with the governor adding a last-minute amendment banning such coverage). Three separate bills would have given constitutional rights to a fetus at all stages of development. Additionally, one proposed bill would have meddled in the doctor-patient relationship by requiring that a pregnant female receive an ultrasound before she has an abortion.

Anti-choice lawmakers also singled out women’s healthcare for new restrictions.

On July 1^st, a bill passed through political maneuvering officially became law. This Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law states that if a facility performs more than five first-trimester abortions a month it is now considered a hospital. Such regulations are politically-motivated and aim to restrict the freedom of women to comprehensive, reproductive health care.

An opinion piece in The Daily Progress entitled, “Freedom is in the eye of the beholder,” further discussed Virginia’s ranking and highlighted a specific quote from the authors of the study: “In our [the authors of the study] view, individuals should be allowed to dispose of their lives, liberties, and properties as they see fit, as long as they do not infringe on the rights of others.”

Out-of-touch Virginia elected officials continue to infringe on a woman’s right to choose complete, affordable healthcare. Thus, Virginia’s high ranking once again does not extend to Virginia women.

Though people and elected officials may have different ideals about what constitutes freedom, there is no denying that an increase in government regulation reduces an individual’s liberty.

With anti-choice politicians, the freedom of Virginia women is constantly in jeopardy.

Senator Edward Houck

Welcome back to our new, regular blog series, Virginia Political Pro(choice)files. In this segment, we highlight Virginia’s state politicians who support and fight for women’s reproductive rights while also drawing attention to politicians who are working to undermine the constitutional right to safe and legal abortion. To see how all General Assembly members stacked up in 2011, check out our Legislative Scorecard!

Political Pro(Choice)files: Edward Houck

By Brooke

As a politician with more than 25 years in office and with a solid pro-choice voting record, Senator Edward (Edd) Houck is a man who has faced numerous attacks for his commitment to reproductive rights and women’s health.

In February of this year, extremists opposed to a woman’s complete healthcare access even went so far as to accuse Senator Houck of “furthering the sex-slave industry” by a radical anti-choice blog because of his support for Planned Parenthood (which just so happens to provide healthcare and family planning services, often to people who could not afford them otherwise). While the subject of abortion is often inflammatory, Senator Houck has gotten more flack for his standing up for women’s health than many other pro-choiceVirginia legislators due to his position as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Health. With this position, Senator Houck votes on virtually every choice-related bill that is introduced into the state Senate.

In the 2011 session, an admittedly tough year for pro-choice advocates, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia gave Senator Houck a score of 100 percent for his perfect record of supporting choice. Senator Houck plays a pivotal role in protectingVirginia’s women by leading the Education and Health Committee to defeat restrictive, politically-motivated and dangerous anti-choice bills before they can be taken to a vote by the full Senate.

In 2010, when a bill meant to limit state funding of abortions in facilities receiving state funding was introduced to the Senate, Houck made it clear that he believed it was dangerous to reproductive health. In the midst of the debate, Houck responded to those pushing for passage: “When you try to tease out what [this bill] means, you get to UVA medical system, and that might mean a woman who comes in with medical condition and is pregnant, you would not be able to do an abortion in that regard, possibly putting her at jeopardy.” It is this kind of commitment to women’s health that makes Edd Houck a consistent, committed champion forVirginia women. He looks past misleading arguments made by anti-choice legislators and attempts to protect women’s health.

In the 2011 session, after two Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to pass legislation requiring any facility performing more than five first-trimester abortions per month to live up to the same regulations as hospitals, Houck spoke out publically,  calling it a “terrible tragedy.”

Senator Houck remains a dedicated and tireless champion for women’s continued access to vital healthcare inVirginia.

It is important that we maintain such pro-choice champions in our General Assembly this November, to continue to protect reproductive choice in the Commonwealth.

For more voter information, check out the Virginia State Board of Elections website. Regardless of your residence, all Virginia voters should remember that the statewide general election will be held on November 8^th.

The War Against Women: Coming to a Town Near You

By Brooke

Yesterday, Amanda Iacone of Virginia Statehouse News published an article documenting the war on women that is occurring locally as well as on a national level.

Several states have pursued “copycat” legislation with the overall goal of limiting women’s access to reproductive healthcare. (Copycat laws are just that – laws passed in one state to further restrict women’s health that another state copies.)

Virginia is no exception.

Banning abortion coverage through private insurance exchanges is just one example of such legislation across the country and in Virginia.

Virginia women have also been subjected to TRAP (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) laws that passed in the last session of the General Assembly; a type of legislation that Virginia Statehouse News calls “one of the most common methods lawmakers use to curb the number of abortions by limiting women’s access or shutting down the providers.”

President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Nancy Keenan, was featured in the article, calling out politicians who came into office with big promises of job creation and economic relief, but have thus far only delivered attacks on women’s rights. Keenan stated: “In (the) next 18 months, I think you’re going to see a backlash of the public. First they thought this was about jobs and the economy — it really has been more about outlawing abortion care in this country.”

The fear for Virginia women and families now lies in the potential for other copycat legislation. Virginia’s anti-choice elected officials put Virginia at risk of anti-choice legislation that has been seen in other areas of the country such as the defunding of Planned Parenthood, requirements that women wait up to 72 hours before abortions, or even criminalization of doctors who perform abortions.

To see the damage that has been done by anti-choice officials in the General Assembly and Governor McDonnell’s administration regarding this war against women, check out our “The McDonnell Administration’s War on Women’s Health: By the Numbers” video. Don’t forget to see how you state legislator stacks up on women’s health issues by reviewing our 2011 Legislative Scorecard.

Summer Intern Series Part 2: Sex & Politics in the Capital City

By Brooke

This summer, Advocates for Youth, the Center for Health and Gender Equity, Choice USA and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS), along with partner organizations are holding a series of lunchtime talks for DC-area interns working for organizations with similar goals.

In yesterday’s third segment of Sex & Politics in theCapitalCity, the topic was “Understanding the Attacks on Federally Funded Programs: Discussion on Title X, Medicaid and the Role of Organizations.”

A principal theme of this week’s talk was that there is a national war occurring against women and, more specifically, minority women. The luncheon was led by a panel with representatives from the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, the National Health Law Program, and the DC Abortion Fund.

A lot of our discussion centered on the topic of reproductive healthcare for poverty-stricken minority groups. There was a clear focus on the impact that funding cuts to Title X and Medicaid specifically will have on women’s reproductive health and the perpetuation of poverty amongst minorities.

Because 60 percent of people receiving Medicaid are minorities, these funding cuts are affecting minorities the most. Movements to defund Planned Parenthood and other women’s health centers are also affecting minority women disproportionately because minority women are more likely to use a publically funded facility.

A great point made about these funding cuts to healthcare services is that they have been specifically focused on reproductive healthcare, creating segregation between general healthcare and reproductive healthcare. The problem? Reproductive healthcare is healthcare!

What I really took away from this presentation was how much influence politicians have on our rights. If this worries you too, help us support pro-choice candidates who have women’s reproductive rights in mind.

Restricting choice in Virginia by attacking abortion providers

At the last minute, reckless legislators restrict reproductive choice in Virginia by moving to regulate abortion providers as hospitals

Anti-choice legislators in the Virginia General Assembly have been trying for decades to restrict a woman’s right and ability to access abortion care in the commonwealth in any way they can. In particular, they’ve tried and failed for years to implement targeted regulation on abortion providers (or TRAP) laws, which single out providers for onerous and unnecessary restrictions in an effort to shut them down and deny women access.

This year’s legislative session was no different. NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia pushed back all session long against a series of legislative attacks on reproductive freedom, which up until this week were all defeated in the Senate Committee on Education and Health. After many weeks of fighting off anti-choice legislation in the House and Senate, it seemed that our battle to protect reproductive choice this session was finished.

But this past week, as the 2011 legislative session came to a close, anti-choice politicians mounted a successful last-minute sneak attack on Virginia’s first-trimester abortion providers and the women they serve. In the House of Delegates last Monday, anti-choice Del. Kathy Byron added an amendment to SB924 – a bill dealing with hospitals and nursing homes that originally had nothing to do with abortion – in order to change the definition of “hospital” to include “facilities in which five or more first-trimester abortions per month are performed.”

The amended bill was then sent back to the state Senate, where after lengthy and heated debate and despite the quick response of many of our members and activists to contact their elected officials, the bill managed to squeak by with a 20-20 tie vote, with conservative Democrats Senator Charles Colgan (D-Prince William County) and Senator Phillip Puckett (D-Tazewell) voting to approve the new restrictions. That left it to anti-choice Lt. Governor Bill Bolling to break the tie, and the bill was passed. This legislation is now on its way to Governor McDonnell, who has already promised to sign it into law. (See the full votes here.)

Over the course of two days of debate, our choice champions in the Senate stood up to support Virginia women by decrying this insidious and devastating attack on reproductive care. We thank all our allies in the Senate who voted against this anti-choice legislation (see votes listed here), but we want to extend special gratitude to the following senators who spoke passionately on the floor about this bill’s true motives and the devastating impact it could have on reproductive choice in Virginia.

• Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun)
• Sen. George Barker (D-Alexandria)
• Sen. John Edwards (D-Roanoke)
• Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke)
• Sen. Patsy Ticer (D-Alexandria)
• Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington)
• Sen. Richard Saslaw (D-Springfield)
• Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton)
• Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk)
• Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston)

Be sure to send a quick thank-you note to the senators who voted “no”, especially if you are a constituent, thanking them for voting to protect reproductive freedom and healthcare!

If your senator is one of the 20 who voted in favor this egregious legislation, they also need to hear from you. Tell them that attacking women’s reproductive rights under the guise of protecting women’s health is not acceptable.

“If anybody thinks this is about women’s health, get a life…”

So what does this all mean?

This new law will allow the state’s Board of Health to force first-trimester abortion providers to conform to medically unnecessary hospital-level regulations in order to stay open. By making abortion providers jump through onerous regulatory hoops not required of similar doctor’s offices providing outpatient surgeries, anti-choice politicians hope they can shut down as many providers as possible and drastically reduce women’s access to safe, legal abortion care in Virginia.

Throughout the floor debate, anti-choice legislators attempted to claim the bill was about protecting women’s health and safety. They made inaccurate statements to imply that Virginia’s abortion providers are currently unregulated or unsafe, which we know is completely untrue.  First-trimester abortion providers in Virginia already adhere to regulations from the Board of Health Professions, the Board of Medicine and other licensing and regulatory bodies. First-trimester abortion remains one of the safest medical procedures a woman can undergo, similar to or safer than comparable office-based procedures such as colonoscopy or cosmetic surgery.

As NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia’s Executive Director Tarina Keene noted, “”This is not about safety for women. This is about ideology, and this is about politics…The women of the commonwealth are going to be the ones left to suffer.” In the words of Majority Leader Sen. Richard Saslaw, “If anybody thinks this debate is about women’s health, get a life. The only physician we have in this body has said what nonsense this is.”

At a time when Virginians are concerned about jobs, education, transportation and health care, our out-of-touch General Assembly has voted to remove women’s access to basic, vital and potentially life-saving abortion care. The passage of such far-reaching legislation will make Virginia the first state in the country requiring first-trimester abortions take place in a hospital. It could even make abortion providers adhere to hospital-like architectural standards. The rules and regulations for hospitals (including size of parking lot, hallways, elevator doors and other architectural requirements) would require massive, cost-prohibitive structural changes for most doctor’s offices that provide abortion. Most of Virginia’s providers could not afford the cost of $1.5 and $2.0 million in changes and could be forced to close. This would also leave Virginia women with less access to other valuable services besides abortion as well, since many of these clinics also offer basic family planning services, gynecological exams and other reproductive health care.

What’s next?

Senator Howell summed up the tone of the day by stating, “This is a sad, sad day for Virginia women and our families.” But luckily, this fight is not over with the passage of this legislation.  It will now be up to the State Board of Health to issue new regulations regarding abortion providers, which means we will have a chance during the public comment period to ensure that abortion providers and the women they serve are not unfairly singled out to serve an ideological agenda.

The passage of this legislation is also another example of why this fall’s election season is so critical for the future of reproductive freedom in Virginia. Yesterday reminded us too keenly of the fact that we do not have a pro-choice majority in either the House of Delegates or the Senate, and that the executive branch is decidedly anti-choice. This fall, with all 140 General Assembly seats up for reelection, we must protect our legislative allies and work to elect more legislators who will stand up for reproductive freedom. If we don’t, this legislation will just be the tip of the iceberg.

We will have a lot of work to do in the coming months to fight back against this attack on abortion access and gear up for this fall’s elections – and we will need your help every step of the way. Keep up with us on the web, through Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and right here on our blog. Be sure to sign up for our Choice Action Network alerts so you’ll get the latest updates about reproductive rights in the Commonwealth and what you can do. And if you can, please consider making a contribution to support NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia and enable us to continue this fight.  We can’t do it without you.

General Assembly Begins Today! (Action Alert)

Today marks the beginning of a 45-day battle to protect reproductive choice in Virginia!

Although the 2011 general assembly session that starts today is a short one for Virginia, we will have our hands full nearly every moment with anti-choice attacks on birth control, abortion access, and comprehensive sex education! We will also be busy advocating for pro-choice policies on issues such as expanding comprehensive sex education for Virginia’s young people and improving contraceptive access for low-income women.

We’ll need your support and your voice to ensure that our efforts in Richmond are successful this year. Here are some ways you can get involved and keep up-to-date on the latest information about protecting and promoting reproductive choice during the general assembly session and beyond!

• Sign up to join the Legislative Rapid Response Team and find out how you can get involved as one of our go-to activists throughout the session.
• “Like” our NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia page on Facebook or follow @NARALVirginia on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates from Richmond.
• Subscribe to our blog or Tumblr account.
• Join our League of Young Leaders (LoYL) group for pro-choice young professionals! “Like” them on Facebook or follow @LoYL2Choice on Twitter.

And don’t forget to join NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, the Virginia Pro-Choice Coalition, and nearly 500 other pro-choice Virginians like you for 2011’s Pro-Choice Lobby Day on January 27, 2011! Register now for your opportunity to tell your elected officials why Virginia is pro-choice!

This promises to be a difficult session for reproductive choice, but together we can protect our freedoms and show lawmakers that Virginia is pro-choice! We will be on the ground in Richmond fighting daily, and I hope I can count on having you standing with us. Stay tuned for updates on more ways you can get involved as the session continues.

Thank you for your support!

Only Three Weeks Away from Pro-Choice Lobby Day! (Action Alert)

Next week, the Virginia General Assembly begins what is shaping up to be an extremely challenging legislative session for choice. Anti-choice legislators are already gearing up to launch assaults on abortion access, birth control, and comprehensive sex education that could have devastating effects for the future of reproductive freedom in Virginia!

It is imperative that pro-choice Virginians like us come together and make sure our voices are heard. We must present a united front and let our lawmakers know that women’s rights, privacy and health are not political bargaining chips.

That’s why I hope you’ll join NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, the Virginia Pro-Choice Coalition, and nearly 500 other citizen-activists from across the state for Pro-Choice Lobby Day in Richmond on January 27!

Register now!

Pro-Choice Lobby Day!
Date: Thursday, January 27, 2011
Time: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Address: General Assembly
9th Street & Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia

The day will feature amazing pro-choice speakers, break-out sessions, and opportunities to tell your elected officials the importance of protecting reproductive choice in the Commonwealth. Keep checking our website for updates and more details!

Be sure to register online with our pro-choice coalition partners Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. Don’t want to drive to Lobby Day? We’ll have several buses to bring activists from different parts of the state. You can purchase your bus ticket, which includes the cost of your lunch, when you register. We also have bus ticket subsidies available for those who may not otherwise be able to join us. Check online for more information on buses.

Remember, choice is a fragile liberty we must vehemently protect. I hope you’ll join us to take a stand for your pro-choice values during this crucial legislative session.