VSC NAACP Strongly supports the passage of SJ248 and SJ247.

Republicans have a duty to offer FLOOR amendments to this bill to show Virginia how radical SJ 247 really is. It provides, “… every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom … relating to one’s own ... contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.” These rights apply to “individuals” with no age minimum, including teen girls and boys such as: surgical/drug induced sterilization, sex/gender changes, surrogate pregnancy, humans, gene-editing, and cloning now illegal (VA Code, 32.1-12,21-22). Children under 18 will be able to access birth control, abortion, sterilization, and sex changes without parental notice/consent. Therefore, SJ 247 abolishes the age of sexual consent. Virginia’s criminal sexual trafficking laws protecting minors from predatory adults will be unenforceable because minors would have the legal capacity to “consent” to such sexual behavior. Laws prohibiting prostitution would be unconstitutional restraints on “reproductive freedom” because individuals, including minors, would have a fundamental right to sexual relations of any type under the Democrats RFA. Likewise, parents would have no ability to sue Planned Parenthood or adult sexual predators including school counselors securing sex changes for minor students behind parents backs because the RFA states, “The Commonwealth shall not … take adverse action against any individual for aiding or assisting another individual in exercising such other individual’s right to reproductive freedom with such other individual’s voluntary consent.” Secondly, claiming that abortion is safe (for women) is a successful though false marketing claim used to keep abortion legal which derives from severe limits on collecting and identifying abortion complications. Neither the U.S. Centers for Disease Control nor Virginia developed a comprehensive abortion complication reporting system to identify more than a miniscule portion of abortion complications occurring during an abortion. This makes it impossible to link abortion with adverse maternal mortality or delivery problems. The CDC /Virginia covered up abortion complications. In 1990, I and a George Washington Medical School faculty member surveyed Virginia doctors who might have treated women in 1989 for abortion complications known at the time of the abortion. We found 230 complications for 33,200 abortions, or 676% more complications than CDC/Virginia officials reported in a similar time period. Women lie about their abortions. PP’s notes, “Underreporting of abortions is a persistent problem … irrespective of the research design or study population. … underreporting appears to be ubiquitous … .” (Family Planning Perspectives, Sept./Oct. 1996, 228-23.) Eight other federally paid for surveys show between 41% and 71% of women lie about their abortion. Women who lie about their abortions don’t report complications and they cannot be happy about their “reproductive” freedom. As a General Assembly member I asked Virginia’s Medicaid director to cost match similar groups of Medicaid women — 325 who had their children vs. 325 who had abortions. From 1989-94, “The women with legally induced abortions had 532 claims for subsequent health interventions. The women with normal deliveries had 307 claims … for subsequent health interventions. … reimbursements for … women with abortions was $123,800 and for … women with normal deliveries was $66,900.”

I ask that you support SJ247 to protect fundamental rights to reproductive freedom. Many times women have to make the difficult choice to end a pregnancy when there are fatal fetal anomalies or the mother's life is in danger. This is a decision that should be made between a woman and her doctor. It amazes me that the same people who say the government should NOT tell them to get the COVID vaccine are the same ones who want to have a say when it comes to the very private decision of reproductive healthcare. Please support this Constitutional Amendment so we can go through the process again next year then let the public vote.

I am commenting on behalf of the 200+ women and men of all ages from the New River Valley of Virginia who are part of Our Bodies Our Choice, a non-partisan organization committed to restoring reproductive rights and justice. This group was founded a year ago by a group of women in their 70s and 80s who watched with horror the rapid and nearly complete loss of reproductive freedom in nearly half of the states since Roe v Wade was overturned, just two years ago. We were young women who lived through an era where contraception was not readily available and abortion was illegal. We know what this was like, and we know how hard these protections were to achieve decades ago. We have spent this year educating our community about these unacceptable threats to our reproductive freedom. Over half of OBOC members are students and young adults for whom contraception, and abortion if needed, are an utterly expected part of their lives. They cannot imagine that it could be taken away. Yet that is exactly what is happening in some states. We strongly urge the committee to support SB247 to ensure that reproductive freedom will be protected in Virginia. How could it not be? Patricia Hyer, Chair Our Bodies Our Choice 703 Willard Drive Blacksburg, VA 24060 540-250-5618

Please support SJ247. The right to make decisions about my own body is the essence of freedom. It is integral to my human dignity and my opportunity to fully participate as an adult citizen.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia supports SJ247. Every Virginian deserves the freedom to make personal healthcare decisions without government interference. These decisions include those related to comprehensive reproductive healthcare – prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management and fertility care. SJ247 will guarantee that the state cannot deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most personal healthcare decisions. Protecting reproductive freedom through a constitutional amendment ensures that reproductive decisions remain beyond arbitrary government control, thus securing reproductive healthcare and rights for all Virginians now and for future generations. We urge you to support SJ247.

Attention: General Assembly Members Many Legislators (D and some R) are voting for two immoral amendments to the Virginia Constitution (Bills HJ9 and SJ249) intend to enshrine sodomy into the VA Constitution by permitting same-sex marriage (SSM). Currently, in our constitution, marriage is defined as a union between a man and woman, as God intended. 1) This change will encourage thousands more to fall into the dangerous and demonic bondage of sodomy. 2) It will make it more difficult to restore Biblical marriage once Obergefell vs Hodges 2015 is overturned. Remember, Roe was overturned. 3) It will enshrine the filthy act of sodomy as an accepted behavior. This act is so filthy that 88% of male homosexuals report getting an enema before anal penetration (PubMed). 4) Legitimizes an unnatural lifestyle that greatly increases rectal infections, fissures, trauma, hemorrhoids, cancers, HIV, STDs and death. The rectum was not created for penetration and is usually injured. 81% of new HIV cases among men were of gays (CDC 2013). 5) Passing this amendment will treasure up greater judgements from God against a rebellious and sinful people. Isaiah 5:20 says “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil …” 6) Children raised in SSM are demonstrably worse off than hetero homes. Amendments to allow unlimited abortions in Virginia (HJ1, SJ247) 1) In 2024, 35,000 homicides against the unborn took place in the Commonwealth. Prov. 5:17 “God hates … hands that kill the innocent.” 2) Women’s rights don’t seem to apply to unborn girls who don’t have a choice or voice? What about the rights of fathers? 3) 1 John 3:15 says, “no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” Voting for this amendment will make you complicit in mass murder. Please research these matters more fully and vote AGAINST these detestable bills.