Lawsuit Seeks To Block Constitutional Amendment Enshrining Abortion Access From Virginia Ballot in November

A ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to abortion in Virginia’s constitution is now facing a legal challenge that threatens to block the proposal from the ballot in November. The amendment states that “every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” It adds that the right “shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest.” In January, the legislature voted to put the amendment on the ballot later this year. On Wednesday, the Bedford County supervisor, Charla Bansley, a Republican, filed a legal challenge to the amendment, arguing that the legislature did not follow the proper process for putting it to the voters.The firm representing Ms. Bansley, the Liberty Counsel, says that the lawmakers “skipped the mandatory, multi-step process established by the Virginia Constitution and related statutes — requirements that the Virginia Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized as essential for any valid constitutional change.”Virginia’s Constitution lays out a lengthy process for amendments to its constitution. A proposed amendment has to be approved by the legislature twice. After the first time, the proposal has to be distributed to circuit courts throughout the state three months before the next election for the House of Delegates so that it can be posted on the courthouse doors for voters to read. The lawsuit states, “The process is critical so that voters have the requisite information to make informed choices in an election.”However, Liberty Counsel says that ahead of the 2025 election, at least three circuit courts — courts in Bedford, Lynchburg city, and Campbell County — did not receive the amendments to post on their doors. Because the circuit courts did not receive the proposed amendment, the Liberty Counsel says that it “cannot be submitted to the voters at this time.”A Democratic state senator who supported the amendment told the Virginia Mercury that the lawsuit is a “frivolous attempt to silence Virginia voters.”Some courts in Virginia have blocked ballot measures because they failed to meet the public notice requirements. In January, a Tazewell County judge blocked Virginia Democrats’ mid-decade redistricting plan in part because of a failure to comply with the public notice requirement.However, on Wednesday, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled that the redistricting amendment can go to the voters even as there is a pending legal challenge to the proposed congressional map.

Lawsuit Seeks To Block Constitutional Amendment Enshrining Abortion Access From Virginia Ballot in November

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