Virginia public media cancels pro-life doctors’ press conference
Virginia Public Media voided a contract for a press conference by physicians opposing the state’s proposed abortion amendment, saying it had not been told the event was political. The cancellation comes a month before voters decide whether to make abortion a fundamental right and strip parental notification rights in the state constitution.
Virginia Public Media (VPM) canceled a booking for a press conference by pro-life physicians opposing Virginia’s proposed abortion amendment, the Daily Wire reported Oct. 1. The group, Virginia Medical Professionals for Women’s Safety, instead held the event Oct. 2 at the Virginia General Assembly Building in Richmond.
“Since we were not made aware of the political nature of your event, the contract has been voided, and you will receive a full refund,” VPM wrote to the group, according to the Daily Wire.
The group had booked the Richmond venue about a month earlier, and VPM canceled the same day the group began publicly advertising its opposition to Question 1, the pro-abortion amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. The outlet said VPM has previously reported on the amendment, including views from both opponents and supporters. No further statement from VPM was reported.
Dr. Timothy Boley, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who leads the group, said, “VPM may have attempted to cancel our event, but we are pressing forward.”
Dr. Christina Francis, an OB/GYN and CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists Action, said VPM was “doing a disservice to their audience” by “silencing our physician voices.”
The group, which describes its mission as patient safety and the preservation of existing medical regulations, argues that the amendment would make abortion a constitutional right that bars future regulation, remove parental consent requirements for minors, and allow late-term abortions for mental-health reasons.
The amendment’s text guarantees “the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.” It would allow third-trimester abortions in cases where the mother’s life or physical or mental health was deemed to be at risk, or when the unborn child is not viable.
CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt analyzed the amendment for the Daily Caller News Foundation in a September interview, saying, “Abortion is already legal in Virginia. That single fact tells you everything you need to know about what this amendment is actually for. This is not about access. It is about permanence and about power.”
Democrats Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, and Planned Parenthood Virginia support it, and early-2025 polls showed roughly 60% support. More than 300 Virginia doctors endorsed the measure at a Sept. 28 news conference, WTVR reported.
Virginia’s Catholic bishops, Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Barry Knestout of Richmond, have mobilized a statewide effort to oppose the abortion amendment.
“Ballot Question 1 is extreme, dangerous, radical and horrific,” they said in an August letter, pointing out that it cements a “fundamental right” to abortion until birth into the state constitution, including in the case of pregnant minors.
Virginia’s bishops also highlighted that the amendment would “shield ‘any individual’ who assists in an abortion from legal consequences.” They found it telling that when “debating the language of the proposed constitutional amendment, legislators even rejected a proposal to require that any baby born alive after an attempted abortion would receive the same level of care and treatment as any other infant.”
Speakers at a Sept. 17 webinar on the ballot questions, hosted by 40 Days for Life founder David Bereit and covered by the Arlington diocese’s Catholic Herald, framed the votes as matters the Church sees as beyond ordinary politics.
Father Paul Scalia, the Arlington diocese’s episcopal vicar for clergy, said some questions should be removed from the democratic process because they are foundational to society: “Life and marriage are two such things.” Amy McInerny, director of the diocese’s Office of Respect Life, warned that Question 2, a separate amendment concerning marriage, could put Christian business owners and churches at legal risk, including the loss of tax-exempt status.
Question 2, which the state’s bishops have also opposed, would remove the Constitution’s definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Early in-person voting began Sept. 18 and continues through Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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