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Ballot Explained

Virginia ballot measure · November 3, 2026

Virginia Question 1, explained

Fundamental right to reproductive freedom. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.

The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?

What it actually means

Virginia's constitution says nothing about reproductive care today; abortion and contraception are governed by statute, which a future General Assembly could change. This amendment would add a new Section 11-A to the Bill of Rights creating a "fundamental right to reproductive freedom" covering prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion, miscarriage management and fertility care. The state could still regulate abortion in the third trimester, but could never prohibit one that a physician judges necessary to protect the patient's life or physical or mental health, or where the fetus is not viable.

Y

If you vote YES

  • A new Article I, Section 11-A would state that every individual has a fundamental right to make and carry out decisions about their own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management and fertility care.
  • That right could not be denied, burdened or infringed "unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means" — and the amendment itself narrows what counts as compelling: only maintaining or improving the health of the person seeking care, consistent with accepted clinical standards, without infringing their decision-making.
  • The Commonwealth could regulate abortion in the third trimester, but could never prohibit one that in a physician's professional judgment is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual, or where the fetus is not viable.
  • Virginia could not penalise, prosecute or take adverse action against a person for exercising the right, or for their own pregnancy outcomes including miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion — nor against anyone who helps another person exercise it with their consent.
  • The section is self-executing, so it would take effect without any implementing law, and any invalid part is severable.
  • Existing statutes that conflict with the new right would be open to challenge.
N

If you vote NO

  • The Virginia Constitution continues to say nothing about reproductive care, and none of these decisions carries constitutional protection in the state.
  • Abortion, contraception and fertility care remain governed by Virginia statute, which currently permits abortion through the second trimester and restricts it in the third to cases certified by three physicians as necessary to prevent the woman's death or substantially impair her health.
  • A future General Assembly and governor could narrow or widen those laws by ordinary legislation.
  • Virginia's parental consent law, conscience protections for providers, clinic health and safety rules and restrictions on taxpayer funding of abortion stay in place and are not put in question by a constitutional right.
  • Virginia would not join the states that have written reproductive rights into their constitutions since 2022.
The numbers that matter
Where the right would sit
A new Section 11-A of Article I, the Bill of Rights

Full text of the amendment published by the Virginia Department of Elections

What the state could still regulate
Abortion in the third trimester, subject to life, health and viability exceptions

Text of the amendment

Votes needed to pass
A simple majority of votes cast on the question

Article XII, Virginia Constitution

What each side says3 for, 3 against — quoted, not summarised

Why supporters say YES

  • "This is a victory for every woman and girl in the Commonwealth who believes in the right to make personal healthcare decisions without government interference. … This amendment ensures that individuals, not politicians, are in control of these deeply personal decisions."

    — State Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-38)

  • "We trust that pregnant people can make the best decisions about their bodies and their families, and we trust healthcare providers to provide the highest standard of care. Politicians in Richmond with no medical training have no business making these extremely intimate and personal decisions for us."

    — LaTwyla Mathias, executive director, Progress Virginia

  • "In the wake of the fall of Roe v. Wade, reproductive health care rights are increasingly vulnerable. And ensuring access to contraception is a fundamental part of protecting bodily autonomy and personal decision making."

    — Jamie Lockhart, executive director, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia

Why opponents say NO

  • "This radical amendment goes far beyond even what Roe v. Wade previously allowed. It would enshrine virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no age restriction. Among numerous other problems, it would severely jeopardize Virginia's parental consent law, conscience protections for healthcare providers, health and safety standards for women, and restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortions."

    — Virginia Catholic Conference

  • "There's no age mentioned in the constitutional amendment that just says any individual has a right to an abortion, doesn't distinguish between adults and minors so we're very concerned that will do away with parental consent."

    — State Sen. Mark Peake (R-8)

  • "If the amendment becomes law it will most certainly lock Virginia in a terrible situation. We will become a permanent destination for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy for women from all over the South. It will remove the opportunity and responsibility of our legislators to pass even the most sensible regulations."

    — Virginia Society for Human Life

What's genuinely uncertain
  • The amendment does not mention minors or parental consent. Supporters say it does not touch Virginia's parental consent law; opponents say a fundamental right held by "every individual" would override it. That question would be settled in court, not by the text.
  • How the narrowed definition of "compelling state interest" would apply to existing clinic regulations, conscience protections and funding restrictions is untested.
  • The third-trimester exception turns on "the professional judgment of a physician" about life or physical or mental health, and how broadly that would be read is disputed.
  • Neither side's claim about the effect on the number of abortions performed in Virginia rests on a published official projection.
  • The Virginia Catholic Conference opposes this amendment but supports Question 3, so a voter cannot read one position from the other.

The bottom line

Whether decisions about pregnancy, contraception and fertility should be put beyond the reach of a future General Assembly — protection that no longer depends on who holds Richmond, against a constitutional right whose edges, including how it meets parental consent and clinic regulation, courts would have to draw.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here
  1. 1Proposed Constitutional Amendment, Question 1 — Virginia Department of Elections — elections.virginia.gov
  2. 2November 2026 Proposed Constitutional Amendments and Local Referenda — Virginia Department of Elections — elections.virginia.gov
  3. 3Virginia Question 1, Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org

Checking it against the official text

The Virginia Department of Elections publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.

Confirm this with the official source

Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Virginia Department of Elections.

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