A Virginia lawsuit is aiming to remove a proposed constitutional amendment in the state that could enshrine abortion. The law firm Liberty Counsel filed the companied on behalf of Bedford County Board of Supervisors member Charla Bansley.
The lawsuit alleges that the measure did not follow the legal process to make it to the ballot. “Defendants failed to follow that process and have inflicted irreparable constitutional injury on Plaintiff for their failure to follow the constitutionally prescribed process for amending the Commonwealth’s agreement with its citizens,” the filing says.
The proposed measure declares that “every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.”
“An individual’s right to reproductive freedom shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means,” it reads.
Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement on the matter, “Virginia’s House Joint Resolution 1 cannot legally appear on the ballot. This measure is invalid because the General Assembly advanced it to a second legislative vote without completing the constitutionally mandated notice and posting requirements that must occur after its first passage.”
Staver added that Virginia’s State Constitution “requires strict, step by step compliance with the amendment process so that voters receive proper notice and can evaluate proposed changes to their governing charter before a consequential election. These procedures exist to protect the people’s right to transparent, orderly constitutional change, and any misstep undermines the integrity of the amendment process and can interfere with the will of the voters.”
