FFLC Files Lawsuit Challenging VA Abortion Amendment
The Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC), the legal arm of The Family Foundation of Virginia, filed suit today asking a Virginia court to declare that the proposed state constitutional amendment on “reproductive freedom”, set to appear on the November 3 ballot, violates the Virginia Constitution because the question put to voters is materially misleading. The suit also seeks a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the amendment if it is approved.
A copy of the complaint is available here.
You can watch today’s press conference here.
Left to Right: Dr. Sheila Furey, President of Virginia Medical Freedom Alliance; Josh Hetzler, Executive Director and Chief Counsel for FFLC; Victoria Cobb, President of The Family Foundation; Meagan Kade, Tazewell resident and Bluefiled Town Council Member; and Michael Sylvester, Litigation Counsel for FFLC
Filed in Tazewell County Circuit Court, the suit is the first legal challenge focused on the ballot language voters will see. It also raises a procedural claim previously that the Commonwealth failed to timely publish copies of the proposed amendment ahead of the last general election as state law requires. The proposed amendment would write a sweeping right to “reproductive freedom” into the Virginia Constitution and override existing state statutes regulating abortion.
According to the complaint, the ballot question fails to inform voters that the amendment would:
Eliminate parental notification and consent before a minor obtains an abortion or a sterilization procedure, including procedures performed as part of gender-transition surgeries.
Strip Virginia of its ability to enforce statutory rape laws, by enshrining a right to consensual sexual activity without age limits.
Allow any person, licensed or not, to perform an abortion, with full immunity from state penalties.
End Virginia's ability to set basic health and safety standards for abortion facilities.
Block Virginia from regulating commercial surrogacy, human reproductive cloning, and genetic engineering of embryos, including the creation of so-called designer babies.
A voter reading the ballot question would not know about any of these major impacts. But we believe that if voters knew about any one of these outcomes, many Virginians would vote differently.
There are also other problems with the language. For example, the ballot question deceptively implies that there will be greater restrictions on third-trimester abortions, when in fact the opposite is true. This amendment would actually eliminate current restrictions on late-term abortions (including a requirement that three doctors sign off and the limitation that there be a substantial and irremediable risk to the mother’s life or health), and would now allow third-trimester abortions for virtually any reason, with only the abortionist, in their sole judgment, having to sign off on it.
Furthermore, while the constitutional amendment purports to create a new “fundamental right to reproductive freedom”, the ballot question does not even mention the terms “fundamental right” or “reproductive freedom” at all.
FFLC filed the suit on behalf of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national association of physicians dedicated to patient-centered medicine; the Virginia Medical Freedom Alliance (VAMFA), a coalition of Virginia medical professionals advocating for informed consent and patient safety; and Meagan Kade, a Tazewell County resident and Bluefield Town Council member.
Plaintiffs and counsel issued the following statements:
“We're not asking the court to decide one outcome over another. We're asking that the question be posed to voters honestly, and then let the citizens decide. That hasn't happened. So we have no choice but to challenge what they've done.”
Meagan Kade, Tazewell County resident and Bluefield Town Council member
“We are not asking a court to take this question off the ballot. We are asking the court to do what only a court can do, declare that the ballot language as written is unconstitutional, and to permanently enjoin enforcement of the amendment if it passes. Proposed constitutional amendments must be explained to voters neutrally and accurately. The question Virginians will be handed in November fails that test.”
Josh Hetzler, Executive Director and Chief Counsel, Founding Freedoms Law Center
“This amendment is the most consequential question Virginians will face in a generation, and they are being asked to vote on it without being told the truth about what it does. The Family Foundation is in court because the legislature failed in its duty to ask the question honestly, and Virginians deserve better than a rigged ballot.”
Victoria Cobb, President, The Family Foundation of Virginia
“The amendment as written would put patients in danger and strip away basic informed consent. The ballot question gives voters none of that context.”
Sheila Furey, President, Virginia Medical Freedom Alliance