Five days from now, Virginians will have an opportunity to save the lives of thousands of innocent unborn lives. But will they take it?
On Tuesday, the commonwealth will hold elections for its General Assembly, meaning all 100 House of Delegates and 40 Senate seats will be up for grabs. In the House, Republicans currently hold a 48-46 majority, with six vacancies. Meanwhile, Democrats control the Senate with a 22-18 majority.
With Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, occupying the governor’s mansion and GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears able to break tie votes in the upper chamber, a few Republican victories on Tuesday could give the Virginia GOP trifecta control of the state government for the first time since 2013.
For a list of every state legislative election and their rated competitiveness, see here.
Since Youngkin took office early last year, Virginia Democrats have routinely used their slim Senate majority to stonewall conservative legislative proposals, including pro-life bills. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Virginia Republicans sought to advance several pro-life measures during this year’s legislative session, one of which would prohibit the killing of unborn babies after 15 weeks of pregnancy with limited exceptions.
Under current Virginia law, abortion is legal throughout the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. As noted by the Family Research Council, however, a provision of state law virtually allows abortion “up to the moment of birth through a [broadly defined] ‘health’ exception.”
While not as strong as protections passed in more Republican-friendly states, the
