Since 2022, the infamous Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision — which overruled the constitutional right to obtain an abortion — has prevented women, especially in historically red states, from receiving essential reproductive care. With national reproductive protections gone, several states around the country have passed their own amendments to protect reproductive rights, such as Maryland, Massachusetts and New York. Now, all eyes are on the Commonwealth voters who will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve the Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, which would add a section to the Constitution of Virginia that establishes the right to reproductive freedom.
This amendment would severely limit the ability of the Commonwealth to deny or burden an individual’s right to reproductive freedom, which the amendment defines as “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.” Passing this referendum is essential to protecting bodily autonomy because it prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing individuals who pursue reproductive care. This also would prevent future conservatives from changing policy around this issue. However, national conversations about the mere legality of various types of reproductive care have overshadowed the essential pursuit of making that care accessible, as several known barriers including hidden insurance fees, interstate patient influx and medication access would undermine the effects of the VRRFA.
While Cardinal Care, one of the largest public insurers of the Commonwealth with about 15 percent of female Virginians enrolled, provides free or low-cost comprehensive coverage for eligible low-income adults, pregnant women, seniors and individuals with disabilities or children, federal laws restrict meaningful access and support to certain types of reproductive care. The Hyde Amendment prohibits using national funds for any abortion except in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest — meaning that nearly all abortions cannot be funded through Cardinal Care or Medicaid. Considering abortions are primarily concentrated among low-income families who could conceivably qualify for Cardinal Care, these structural barriers clearly impede accessibility. Further, for the VRRFA to take a meaningful effect in Virginia, the Commonwealth would have to invest more in comprehensive coverage for reproductive care and treatment.
Alongside the reality of convoluted insurance systems is the likely expansion of interstate patient influx due to southern abortion bans. In states like Florida and South Carolina, which have a six-week limit for obtaining an abortion, many patients in their second trimester may reasonably travel to Virginia to receive care. Considering Virginia is the only Southern state post-Dobbs with consistent legal protections, the Commonwealth will continue to bear more interstate healthcare traffic. This regional phenomenon has proven to result in longer wait times and appointment delays, escalating threats to reproductive care access for Virginia visitors and residents alike.
Delays in care combined with state limits on how long into a pregnancy one can obtain an abortion can cause patients to have their pregnancy extend past local limits, which could require them to see providers in another region or state, placing more of a burden on patients and further complicating access to reproductive care. Depending on the gestation period, an abortion may take multiple appointments, which incur even more hidden costs for women, such as travel costs, psychological costs and lost wages. While Virginia does not require any mandatory waiting periods to obtain an abortion, the Commonwealth can still increase flexibility by providing access to telehealth appointments and mail medication abortions despite ongoing litigation. While autonomy is invaluable, it means nothing when women are not able to consistently access the reproductive care that they need through a uniform standard.
With Roe v. Wade overturned, Virginia must take action to care for the Commonwealth and aid the South in accessing reproductive care. By stressing accessibility to life-saving care over and above its mere legality, Virginians can lead the way in inspiring other Southern states to underscore not just the right, but the ability to access care. Virginians must affirm the VRRFA by voting it into the Constitution of Virginia and encourage their representatives to pursue consistent accessibility. At the end of the day, protecting reproductive freedom is not a matter of just permitting it — it includes assisting those seeking to obtain it.
Jenna Caron is an opinion columnist who writes about politics for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.
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