Virginia voters are going to the polls through Nov. 3 to vote on a constitutional amendment that would guarantee abortion rights in the Old Dominion in a contest that has religious leaders mobilizing to crush it.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to chart their own course on abortion for the first time in 50 years. 

Since then, 13 states have successfully implemented near-total abortion bans, while four more have imposed six-week bans, two more have 12-week bans, and several more have bans based on gestational period.

Virginia is one of a handful of states that has neither enacted a state law nor had a court ruling determine the status of abortion. The proposed constitutional amendment would guarantee abortion access in the first two trimesters, while explicitly allowing restrictions for the third, provided they make exceptions for situations where the life and health of the mother is at risk.

Early voting has already begun – with the question about changing the state's abortion law on Virginia's midterm ballots. 

The state requires only a simple majority to approve a constitutional amendment, and the state has trended leftwards for the past 22 years. 

Republicans have not won the state at the presidential level since 2004. Their last statewide success came in 2019, when Republican Glenn Youngkin scored an upset victory against Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe in the state's gubernatorial race. 

Seven years later, Christians across the theological spectrum appear galvanized in an effort to vote against the proposed amendment. 

Catholic Bishop of Arlington Michael Burbage issued a rare direct appeal to parishioners to vote no. And one Catholic group, CatholicsVoteNo, has organized around opposition to the amendment.

“Although many matters in political life call for strictly prudential personal judgments over which Catholics may in good faith disagree, certain fundamental matters such as marriage and the protection of human life call for a consistent and universal response from Catholics to protect and preserve objective goods by which God blesses humanity,” the organization’s website states.

Protestant groups, meanwhile, are also energized. More than 150 Virginia pastors signed an open letter urging Christians to oppose the amendment.

“We believe these two amendments must be rejected for the Commonwealth of Virginia because they will harm our state as they are opposed to human flourishing and contrary to the Word of God,” they wrote. The Second Amendment they reference is a repeal of the state’s now-moot constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

“To the mother considering abortion, we implore you, let your baby live,” they also said. Collectively, the pastors who signed on to the letter represent roughly 90 churches and 50,000 parishioners.

Polling data on the ballot question is generally sparse, but the November elections are expected to favor Democrats, a development that would likely benefit passage of the amendment. The last statewide referendum saw voters approve a map redraw of the state’s congressional districts, though the state Supreme Court later overturned it.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.