Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor
Virginia is on the cusp of codifying an amendment enshrining access to reproductive care in the state constitution. The commonwealth is the last state in the southeastern United States with access to abortion past the first trimester.
Though there is access to abortion in Virginia, many women, transgender people and gender-non-confirming people still struggle to secure reproductive health care due to income inequalities, lack of education and general stigmas. Advocate groups have been working to support each other and maintain equity in access for those seeking reproductive care in the state.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia have been collaborating with democratic legislators for four years to amend the state’s constitution. Their proposed change would enshrine protection for multiple reproductive needs — fertility treatments, contraceptives and abortions in the state legislature. Voting for the amendment will open in late September and close on Nov. 3.
“This has been a long road to get to this and we know that Virginians overwhelmingly support the right to make their own health care decisions free from government interference or criminal punishment,” said Jamie Lockhart, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia works to provide education and community outreach, a counterpart to the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, which works to provide health care options surrounding reproductive rights, Lockhart said.
After the Dobbs v. Jackson case in 2022 — which overturned Roe V. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion — the urgency to create the amendment ramped up, according to Lockhart. They have been working to ensure protections so that people in Virginia and across the South can acquire access to the care they need.
In the aftermath of Dobbs V. Jackson and Florida’s 2024 six-week abortion ban, Virginia saw an increase of 16% in total abortions and about 4,400 out-of-state abortion patients, according to a Guttmacher study.
Lockhart said within the Planned Parenthood network there are “patient navigators” who help patients know how to access care in states where it is legal.
“Also, there are several abortion funds,” Lockhart said. “Abortion funds are really important in not only providing financial support for people to access health care and to be able to afford transportation, but also abortion funds help people know what their options are.”
Though the proposed amendment will help secure reproductive health care access, there are still countless struggles in finding care, according to Billie, a member of Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project or RRFP, who requested their last name not be included for their safety.
RRFP has been operating for 23 years, demonstrating how finding reliable reproductive health care has been an on-going issue, even when it was guaranteed in all 50 states.
As a way to make more folks looking for reproductive care feel comfortable, RRFP has a hotline for non-English speakers, Billie said. They are looking to expand and help as many people access reproductive care as possible with both Spanish and Arabic speakers for their interpretation line, as well as Spanish and Arabic speaking drivers to assist patients getting to and fro their appointments.
“If we have an English-speaking volunteer who knows some Spanish and gives a ride to a Spanish speaker, they’re going to get there safely … but there’s that missing piece of that deep emotional connection that you can get when you speak the same language,” Billie said.
RRFP works with multiple organizations in Virginia and nationwide to help coordinate rides, funds and other needs for those seeking care. Clinics in Virginia are widely spaced out, so it is vital to have networks or orgs ensuring assistance to anyone who needs an appointment.
Those networks are useful for a multitude of reasons, according to Billie. They not only help with funds and transportation, but with other roadblocks. RRFP actively connects individuals to other organizations, should their area of expertise be more in line with the individual’s needs.
“It’s a lot having all of this information in your head and going, ‘I know a person who does that. This person does this. Oh, this organization is out of money. Let’s try to talk to this one’ and we just figure it out,” Billie said. “That would be so overwhelming to do on your own as an abortion seeker and looking online and trying to find all the phone numbers.”
Billie noted the importance of local abortion funds and groups being a “touch point” for the community and following through throughout the process to ensure their needs are met.
81% of people who contacted a call center or clinic after a ban on reproductive care reported travelling out of state to receive care, according to the American Public Health Association; only 3% of those callers continued their pregnancy.
“We’re here to remove the barriers to abortion access,” Billie said. “At that point, [they] are able to finally sit with their emotions and decide they don’t want to have an abortion and they do want to continue their pregnancy. In that case, we’re going to follow through with them and give them referral to things local in their area that can support them.”
RRFP relies heavily on donation funds. The organization is currently throwing their annual Fund-A-Thon looking to raise $65,000 by May 1.
Working with different companies and donors, RRFP also provides different contraceptives, such as morning-after pills and condoms, and holds drives in the community. According to RRFP, the most direct way people can volunteer is joining their hospitality — helping complete package drop-offs in Richmond.
Virginians are working to support those in search of reproductive care in the state — through volunteer, legislative and community action there is a group that will ensure people looking for care they do not know how to receive themselves can get help.