Virginia bishops urge passage of Governor McDonnell's amendment limiting state abortion funding

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Virginia's Governor, Robert McDonnell has proposed a pro-life budget amendment that would ban state funding of abortions. The state assembly will vote on this amendment tomorrow, April 21. The Governor's amendment is similar to the Hyde Amendment that restricts federal funding of abortion.

Both Bishop Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop DiLorenzo of the Diocese of Richmond strongly support the Governor's amendment. According to the Virginia Catholic Conference:

For many years, Virginia has funded abortions for reasons that go well beyond even what federal laws and state statutes require. To address this problem, Governor McDonnell has proposed a budget amendment to ban state funding of these abortions. On Wednesday, April 21, the Virginia General Assembly will decide whether to accept or reject the Governor's proposal, through floor votes in both the House and the Senate.

The Virginia bishops strongly support the Governor's amendment, which provides an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate the vast majority of abortions funded with state taxpayers' money. The bishops urge Catholics throughout the Commonwealth to ask their state Senator and their state Delegate to vote in favor of this vitally important budget amendment

The Virginia Catholic Conference offers a link for sending an email in support of this amendment to your state Senator and your state Delegate. The wording provided on the form email is:

As your constituent, I urge your support for the budget amendment (Item 4-5.04) proposed by Governor McDonnell to prohibit state funding for abortions (except as otherwise required by federal law or state statute). According to statistics from the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, state taxpayers paid for nearly 150 abortions per year over the last 4 years - nearly one abortion every two days.  The vast majority of these abortions fall outside of what federal laws and Virginia statutes require, and Governor McDonnell has taken the important step of proposing that such abortions no longer be funded with public money.

Virginia's policy on abortion funding should be aligned with the federa Hyde amendment policy that has been in place since 1976, rather than subsidizing countless abortions with state money in circumstances well beyond what federal law requires.  By bringing the Commonwealth's policy into much closer conformity with these longstanding federal abortion funding limitations, the Governor's proposal can save many lives. As a state taxpayer, I oppose the use of any of my money for abortion, and I welcome initiatives like the Governor's amendment to significantly limit the number of publicly subsidized abortions.

The link also allows for editing this wording to make it a more personal appeal.

For more info:

Virginia Catholic Conference