Youngkin Vows To ‘Protect Life' As Supreme Court Overturns Right To Abortion

By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

June 24, 2022

Gov. Glenn Youngkin applauded Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision abolishing the constitutional right to an abortion and said his party will get to work on Virginia legislation “protecting the life of unborn children.”

“The Supreme Court of the United States has rightfully returned power to the people and their elected representatives in the states,” Youngkin said in a statement released roughly an hour after the court handed down the seismic, 6-3 ruling that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. “I’m proud to be a pro-life governor and plan to take every action I can to protect life. The truth is, Virginians want fewer abortions, not more abortions.”

Youngkin, who has previously expressed support for so-called pain threshold legislation that would ban most abortions after about 20 weeks, said he’s invited four Republican General Assembly members to help him “bring together legislators and advocates” to prepare a bill for consideration in the 2023 legislative session.

“We can build a bipartisan consensus on protecting the life of unborn children, especially when they begin to feel pain in the womb, and importantly supporting mothers and families who choose life.” Youngkin said.

Abortion will remain legal in Virginia for now, largely because Democrats still control the state Senate after the party’s losses in last year’s elections. Democrats and abortion-rights advocates reacted to the decision in horror and sought to rally their supporters to defend abortion access in the state.

Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said the ruling “ will dramatically impact the lives and health of millions of Americans, and empower state governments to interfere in the relationship between a patient and their provider.”

“Virginia has made tremendous progress on reproductive health, becoming the first state in the South to expand abortion access,” McClellan said in a statement. “We must safeguard our progress and prevent any attempts to weaken abortion rights here in the Commonwealth. I’m proud that the Senate stood up to attempts to attack abortion rights this session, and I will fight to ensure the Senate remains a brick wall to protect reproductive health care.”

This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit Virginia Mercury.com.