Pregnancy help centers (PHCs) in Virginia are facing a serious threat. A proposed constitutional amendment could expand abortion access, remove the limited safeguards for women and girls that currently exist, and endanger the existence of PHCs across the Commonwealth.
This fall’s election will determine which delegates will vote on that amendment in January.
If you’ve ever supported a PHC with your time, prayers, or donations, we’re asking you now to take one more step: support us with your vote. Vote for a delegate who will protect women, unborn children, and the ministry you’ve built.
For the staff of PHCs in Virginia, we see it daily - unborn lives saved as the hearts of moms are changed.
Our clients see the building, experience the services, and feel the hope. But they usually don’t hear the stories of generosity and sacrifice that make it all possible.
Even after more than a decade of serving in pregnancy medical clinics, I never speak with a client, sit beside a patient during her ultrasound, or carry baby supplies out to a waiting mom, without thinking of our supporters first.
You are among the unseen multitudes in the background of every story where a woman finds help and hope in a PHC - and chooses life for her unborn baby.
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Virginians need you more than ever
The impact of the donors who support PHCs across Virginia is undeniable.
Over 40 Virginia pregnancy centers served more than 11,000 people with over $3.5 million in free medical care and support services in a single year.
How? Because over 24,000 individuals and 2,300 churches and organizations donated to make those services available.
But you may wonder if your vote makes the same kind of difference. Abortion as a state campaign issue has been used so often you may be numb to it. It’s not that you doubt the stakes as much as the willingness of our state representatives to actually do anything after they’re elected.
But your vote this fall - specifically for Virginia delegate - will matter.
Why now?
“Let me be clear: This is not politics as usual. This is a direct threat to our ability to exist,” Ryan Holloway, president of the Virginia Coalition of Pregnancy Centers, told Pregnancy Help News.
The amendment that could drag PHCs right into the political fray still needs two majority vote approvals: a second vote in the General Assembly in January, and then, if approved, a popular majority vote in the fall of 2026.
The delegates we elect this fall will cast that critical vote in January.
The proposed amendment guarantees abortion care as a “fundamental right.” It also adds this directive:
“An individual's right to reproductive freedom shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
Dangerous for women and unborn babies, this amendment could also make PHCs vulnerable to legal threats simply for offering alternatives to abortion. The life-saving work of PHCs - providing compassionate help and hope to pregnant women, but not abortion - could be viewed as “denying, burdening, or infringing” on Virginians’ rights.
It’s a threat to your life-saving work.
“This amendment will serve only to give unfettered 'freedom' to the abortion industry," Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat International, told Pregnancy Help News.
“Virginia voters should know the truth,” said Godsey. “Amendments like this, when passed, have already been used to eradicate plain common-sense protections for women.”
Tweet This: Viriginia's so-called "Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment" is a direct threat to pregnancy centers' ability to exist.
What you can do
First, before voting, do your research.
Check here to learn how every incumbent delegate voted on this amendment the first time around. If you’re considering a newcomer, learn about their stance on life.
Second, vote on or before November 4.
Virginia’s registered voters tend to show up for presidential races - over 70% voted in 2024. But in elections without a presidential candidate on the ballot, like this year’s, turnout is significantly lower - it was less than 55% in 2021.
A missing vote for a pro-life candidate helps a pro-abortion candidate win. It’s that simple.
“In the guise of so-called reproductive freedom, this amendment will serve to promote abortion profits and surrender women's healthcare standing to abortionists,” said Godsey. “Virginians must see through this charade and vote against capitulating to the powerful abortion lobby.”
You've always been the quiet force behind pregnancy help centers, making hope tangible, and Virginia safer, for women and unborn babies. Now we need you to continue protecting that hope - with your voice at the ballot box.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
