Virginia bishops oppose fast-tracking of anti-life, anti-marriage amendments to state’s constitution

CV NEWS FEED // Two Virginia bishops are speaking out against Virginia’s fast-tracking of an anti-life amendment and an anti-marriage amendment.

In a November 13 statement posted to the website Virginia Catholic, Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington joined Bishop Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond to denounce an amendment enshrining abortion as a constitutional right and another that would redefine marriage.

These amendments, as well as an amendment allowing former convicts to vote, will go before the House floor at or near the beginning of the 2025 General Assembly session, which starts January 8. 

The bishops wrote, “Adding a ‘right’ to abortion in Virginia’s constitution would enshrine a fundamental tragedy, not a fundamental right. Alarmingly, this proposed policy appears to allow virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy.”

The prelates further stated that the law could end Virginia’s current parental consent laws, allowing minors to undergo abortions without their parents’ permission. The law could also end Virginia’s current laws that forbid partial-birth abortions.

The statement then addresses the amendment to change the Constitution of Virginia’s current definition and legal recognition of marriage: “That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.”

“We also oppose the effort to remove the constitutional provision regarding marriage that Virginia voters approved in 2006,” the bishops added. “We affirm the dignity of every person, and we affirm too that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman.”

Bishops Burbidge and Knestout do, however, support the state’s amendment to allow former convicts who have served their prison sentences to vote. They state that the restoration of voting rights “reflects the teaching of faithful citizenship that each person should participate fully in the political process.”

The statement concludes by explaining that the effort to change the state’s constitution involves multiple steps and will take several years. 

“We must all be vigilant about the actions that are taking place now and those we anticipate may occur in the future,” the bishops wrote. “Though the election season has ended, our deep engagement in decisions that go to the heart of who we are and what we value must continue with determination and zeal.”