This Week was Unprecedented!
It is done. Today, the Senate passed the House resolutions that would amend the state constitution to enshrine unlimited abortion, replace man and woman marriage with transgender/same sex marriage, and create gerrymandered congressional districts. Passage of the House amendments means they have now been approved by both legislative chambers, effectively bringing an end to the legislative debate.
Again, here are the amendments and the impact they will have:
HJ1 (D-Herring) / SJ1 (D-Boysko) – Unlimited Abortion Amendment
Creates a broad “right” to abortion that would allow abortion up to the moment of birth, with no meaningful safety protections for women and no limits on who may perform abortions.
HJ3 (D-Sickles) / SJ3 (D-Ebbin) – Same-sex/Transgender Marriage Amendment
Repeals Virginia’s one-man, one-woman marriage definition and replaces it with gender-ideology language that will threaten girls’ safety and fairness in sports by further opening girls’ teams and private spaces to males who identify as female, while also threatening basic religious liberty protections.
HJ4 (D-Willett) – Gerrymandering Amendment
Allows the General Assembly to bypass the current bipartisan Redistricting Commission and redraw district lines itself. This will make it easier for whichever party holds power to rig maps in its favor, weakening voter trust and reversing reforms designed to ensure fairness and accountability.
Here's what happened:
On Wednesday (January 14), the first day of the 2026 session, the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate fast-tracked the constitutional amendments through the legislative process at breakneck speed. All in the same day, both chambers held special committee meetings and floor votes in order to approve the Senate and House versions of the amendments. Today, the Senate took a final vote to pass all of the House amendments.
This was an unprecedented move!
Republican lawmakers this week attempted to put parameters on HJ1. Senator Tara Durant (R) offered an amendment that would require parental permission for an abortion. Senator Emily Jordan (R) offered a floor amendment that requires reasonable medical care to an infant after a failed abortion procedure. Both floor amendments were defeated on a party-line vote in the Senate.
It is also abundantly clear that the Democrat majority is fast-tracking HJ4, the gerrymandering amendment, in order to hold an April special referendum so they can redraw the congressional lines in time for the November elections, if the amendment is approved. Now we turn our attention to the referendums this year.
What happens next?
Below is a likely timeline of what happens next, but even these details are subject to change this session:
A special referendum will be held for HJ4 in April or May. If approved, the Democrat majority will use the amendment to redraw Congressional lines in June, ahead of the November midterm elections.
Referendums for HJ1 / SJ1 and HJ3 / SJ3 will be on the November ballot.
The battle isn’t over. You can attend the Virginia March for Life on April 22 in Richmond, Virginia. Join us and thousands of others as we push back against the tide of radical abortion legislation and the amendment.
For resources like messaging, flyers, and upcoming events related to each of these three amendments, click on the links below:
Same-sex/Transgender Marriage Amendment
The Democrat majority has set the pace this session and we are ready to meet their stride. Please continue to pray for our team as we work to defend the sanctity of life and parental rights, and anything else the radical left puts forward.
