November’s Elections Will Decide the Fate of Virginia’s Abortion Amendment

While most of the country enjoys a welcome reprieve from political ads and major elections this November, Virginia voters face consequential choices. In addition to several statewide races, the people we elect this fall for the Virginia House of Delegates will determine whether HJ1, an amendment to our state constitution, will go on next year’s ballot. Underneath the election year slogans lies the truth: The “reproductive freedom” HJ1 promises includes unrestricted, unregulated abortion through birth — for any “pregnant person,” regardless of age — and once adopted, cannot be changed the same way ordinary laws can.

My nearly three decades of psychiatric practice confirm that abortion often compounds, rather than resolves, the struggles women face. In many cases, it is the conception and the birth of a child — not the ending of one — that brings the stability, hope, and healing they thought abortion would provide.

DP

About the Author

Dennis Petrocelli

Dr. Dennis Petrocelli is a forensic psychiatrist who has practiced in Virginia jails, prisons, hospitals, and offices since 2000.

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While most of the country enjoys a welcome reprieve from political ads and major elections this November, Virginia voters face consequential choices. In addition to several statewide races, the people we elect this fall for the Virginia House of Delegates will determine whether HJ1, an amendment to our state constitution, will go on next year’s ballot. Underneath the election year slogans lies the truth: The “reproductive freedom” HJ1 promises includes unrestricted, unregulated abortion through birth — for any “pregnant person,” regardless of age — and once adopted, cannot be changed the same way ordinary laws can.

My nearly three decades of psychiatric practice confirm that abortion often compounds, rather than resolves, the struggles women face. In many cases, it is the conception and the birth of a child — not the ending of one — that brings the stability, hope, and healing they thought abortion would provide.