Arlington Bishop Tells Virginia Catholics 'We Do Not Despair' After Abortion Amendment Vote

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington has a message for his flock after last week's vote to write a right to abortion into Virginia's constitution: the defense of life goes on. In a Nov. 4 statement, the bishop said Catholics can take comfort in knowing they gave God their best efforts, and that the Lord will not allow those efforts to be wasted. "Thus, we do not despair," he wrote, promising that Catholics will go on proclaiming the truth in charity and stand together in faith and hope ^[1].

Burbidge thanked the priests, religious and lay volunteers behind the diocese's "Catholics Vote No" initiative, which he said mobilized parishes, missions and schools and reached hundreds of thousands of people through personal appeals, public communications, prayer and fasting ^[1]. He argued that the basic truths about human life and marriage can never legitimately be settled by a vote, even in a democratic nation, and he pointed Catholics to help the diocese already offers: Catholic Charities and its Mary, Mother of Mercy Medical Clinic, Gift of Life financial assistance, the parish-based Gabriel Project for expectant mothers, and Project Rachel, which offers confidential spiritual care to those seeking healing after abortion ^[1].

In a joint statement released through the Virginia Catholic Conference, Burbidge and Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond called voter approval of Ballot Question 1 "profoundly tragic" and warned that, unless a court intervenes, abortion access will now be embedded in the state constitution ^[2]. The bishops urged continued compassionate care for children before and after birth and for their mothers and families, and they backed policies that help women in difficult circumstances choose life ^[2]. They welcomed a separate amendment restoring voting rights to people who have completed their prison terms ^[2].

What Virginians Approved

Question 1 passed by roughly 62 percent to 38 percent with nearly all localities reporting, Cardinal News reported, while a second amendment removing the constitution's ban on same-sex marriage drew about 57 percent and the voting-rights measure about 55 percent ^[3]. The General Assembly approved the amendments in 2025 and again in January 2026, largely along party lines, as Virginia's two-step process with an intervening election requires ^[3].

The new Section 11-A declares a fundamental right to reproductive freedom covering prenatal care, childbirth, contraception, abortion, miscarriage management and fertility care. The state may limit that right only for a compelling interest pursued by the least restrictive means, and while it may regulate third-trimester abortions, it may not prohibit one a physician deems necessary for the mother's life or physical or mental health, or when the unborn child is not viable, Cardinal News explained in October ^[4]. The amendment is written to take effect without new legislation ^[4].

That matters for laws already on the books. Virginia currently requires a parent's written, notarized consent before a minor's abortion, with a judicial bypass, and permits third-trimester abortions only when three physicians agree that the mother faces death or severe harm to her health ^[4]. Josh Hetzler, legal counsel for The Family Foundation, said the amendment would erase that safeguard: "Under current law, it's three doctors. This would just make it one" ^[4]. Lois Shepherd, a University of Virginia health law professor, agreed the three-physician rule is probably vulnerable but said no statute falls automatically, since a court would have to decide, and she doubted parental consent would be voided across the board ^[4].

Pro-life leaders did not soften their assessment. Olivia Gans Turner, president of the Virginia Society for Human Life, said women and unborn children are now left without legal protection and abortion businesses will face little serious accountability, Catholic News Agency reported ^[5]. Family Foundation president Victoria Cobb called writing abortion into the constitution "a wound to the commonwealth," while Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia hailed the outcome as a major victory ^[3].

What Comes Next

The first test arrives Friday, Nov. 13, in Tazewell County Circuit Court, where the Founding Freedoms Law Center, the Family Foundation's legal arm, will seek a preliminary injunction blocking certification of the results ^[3]. The group, which filed suit in April, argues that the required notice was not posted on courthouse doors across the commonwealth and that the ballot wording misled voters, and Hetzler said his side hopes to reach the Supreme Court of Virginia quickly ^[6]. Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she is confident the process was followed, and Virginians for Reproductive Freedom dismissed the case as a sham ^[6].

Related Chiclayo Awaits Its Bishop: Pope Leo XIV Heads Friday to the Peruvian Diocese He Shepherded for Eight Years

Whatever the judge decides, the Church's real answer to this vote is already under way in parish halls and clinics, where a frightened mother finds practical help, medical care and friendship rather than a slogan. Elections can change statutes and even constitutions; they cannot change the dignity of a child in the womb or the duty of believers to love both mother and baby. Bishop Burbidge's refusal to despair is not wishful thinking. It is the steady confidence of a Church that has outlasted many political defeats, and that keeps showing up for women and children long after the yard signs come down.