Virginia is the first southern state to reduce abortion restrictions and protect abortion access with legislation. Pro-choice advocates base their arguments on research-based facts and see removing the limits as a new dawn for reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.
A study revealed that states with restrictive abortion laws have higher maternal and fetal deaths, along with higher rates of drug abuse. The pro-life argument that restrictive laws on abortion are somehow for women’s health and safety has been thoroughly debunked. Former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the Reproductive Health Protection Act in 2019, which said that women have ownership over their bodies and that men should not decide for them.
This was a landmark precedent for reproductive rights in Virginia. It was a much-needed move as anti-abortion laws were enacted in the last decade, making abortion inaccessible and challenging, especially for women from low-income communities.
This law removed the requirements of state-mandated ultrasounds, pre-abortion counseling, and a waiting period of 24 hours. There were also requirements, often unrelated, for institutions to be licensed to perform the procedure that was repealed, including the need to attain the status of a “hospital” to perform more than five abortions annually. While there has been aggressive pushback from the Republicans, the Democratic leadership supported abortion thru the first trimester.
This is the culmination of years of effort, finally allowing women to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term. Women in Virginia no longer have to face coercive pro-life propaganda with obstacles such as waiting periods and biased counseling approaches. The legislation gives the authority back to patients and practitioners to make the right decision.
Many stakeholders believed the previous abortion laws were extremely taxing and economically straining for women. For instance, the National Bureau of Economic Research indicated that Virginia’s abortion restrictions hindered the abortion procedure and racked up additional unnecessary costs with multiple visits, in-person counseling, and waiting periods. The back-and-forth waiting periods and limited time window for the procedure exhaust the logistical viability.
The controversial pro-life laws also required women to inform their partners, employers, and family members before undergoing the procedure, an undue pressure leading to shame and guilt.
However, all of that is behind Virginia as the state turns a new leaf for women’s reproductive rights. The progressive turn towards proactive reproductive rights is the first significant step towards de-politicizing the issue of abortion.
