Tell Your State Senator and Delegate to Support the Governor’s Amendment!
The General Assembly will reconvene for “Veto Day” on April 12th, when they will attempt to again vote on a new budget for the Commonwealth.
Several weeks ago, Governor Youngkin submitted his initial package of budget amendments to the General Assembly. One of the Governor’s amendments includes a provision to adopt the federal Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment prevents the use of your tax dollars paying for most abortions.
Please complete the contact information below and send a message to your State Delegate and Senator urging them to support the Governor’s amendment that includes the provision to adopt the federal Hyde Amendment.
The federal Hyde Amendment only allows funding of abortions for the life of the mother or rape and incest situations. Currently, Virginia funds abortions for Medicaid-eligible pregnant women in four cases. Three of those cases – danger to the life of the mother, rape, and incest – are included under the federal Hyde Amendment and are governed by federal law. But Virginia also funds a fourth category, entirely with state money: abortions of children who might be born with disabilities. In other words, Virginians are paying for abortions beyond what the federal Hyde Amendment requires.
The Governor’s amendment will prevent any funding of abortions in Virginia under Medicaid that go beyond those allowed under the federal Hyde Amendment. It is a simple but important change that we need to ask our legislators to support.
The House of Delegates accepted the Governor’s budget amendment, but the Senate rejected it. So, on Veto Day, the General Assembly will be debating that issue along with others during the day’s deliberations.
Virginia should stop paying for abortions with state taxpayer dollars to the fullest extent possible by adopting the Hyde Amendment in our state budget.
Please send a message TODAY to your State Senator and Delegate telling them to support the Governor’s amendment.