If Virginians approve a ballot measure on November 3 to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution, the amendment already has a court date. A hearing is scheduled for November 13 in Tazewell County Circuit Court to consider a challenge that seeks to block certification of the results.
The case, brought by Founding Freedoms Law Center, alleges the process was not properly filed and that the ballot language is misleading. It asks for a preliminary injunction to prevent the amendment from taking effect even if voters pass it. Virginia Mercury reported the details on October 28.
The legal fight began in April when Founding Freedoms filed suit. It stalled in June after Virginians for Reproductive Freedom successfully petitioned to join as a co-defendant. A central question is whether the General Assembly’s retroactive repeal of an older state code provision on constitutional amendments can stand. That older code required the House of Delegates Clerk to send copies of the amendment text to every circuit court clerk for posting outside the courthouse. The repeal took effect in July, after the amendments had already advanced through earlier steps.
A similar lawsuit brought by Liberty Counsel was dismissed over the summer in another court, though that group is pursuing an appeal. The same procedural argument appeared in the successful challenge that struck down a redistricting referendum earlier this year. Judge Jack Hurley of Tazewell County has handled both matters.
“Not only would this proposed abortion amendment be a disaster for policy reasons, but it would undermine trust in our democratic processes because of the flawed and deceptive means by which it will have passed. We cannot allow that to happen,” Founding Freedoms lawyer Josh Hetzler said in a statement.
The organization is also representing a Prince William County pastor in a newly filed challenge to the separate marriage amendment on the same procedural grounds. Founding Freedoms has said it does not intend to challenge the third ballot question on automatic restoration of voting rights for people with felony convictions.
Election Day is November 3, and early voting is already underway. The three amendments advanced together through the same process. Opponents argue the rushed timeline and the change in posting requirements left voters without the full notice the constitution and prior law required.
What happens next depends on the November 3 results. If the reproductive rights amendment passes, the November 13 hearing will test whether the court will block certification. The outcome could also shape the parallel challenge to the marriage amendment. Virginia voters will decide all three questions in the same election.
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