Virginia House Advances Constitutional Amendments on Abortion, Marriage Equality, and Felon Voting Rights

The proposed measures, requiring further legislative approval before a 2026 referendum, reflect a sharply divided political landscape.

The Virginia House of Delegates passed three proposed constitutional amendments on abortion rights, marriage equality, and felon voting rights, with Democrats leveraging their narrow 51-49 majority.
The abortion amendment establishes a 'fundamental right' to abortion, restricts government interference before the third trimester, and reduces the number of required doctors for late-term abortions from three to one under specific conditions.
The marriage equality amendment seeks to repeal a constitutional provision defining marriage as between a man and a woman, while the felon voting rights amendment aims to restore voting rights upon completing a sentence.
Republicans criticized the abortion amendment as overly extreme, arguing it allows unrestricted access to abortion through all trimesters and undermines parental rights.
The measures require approval in the Senate and passage in both chambers again in 2025 before being placed on the 2026 ballot for public referendum.