Governor Glenn Youngkin has again vetoed legislation Virginia Democrats say will protect contraception access from future U.S. Supreme Court action. Republicans feared it would open up doctors to legal liability, but the bill’s authors disagree.
Senator Ghazala Hashmi told Radio IQ Monday that in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, states need to protect contraception in case federal protections are struck.
But Governor Glenn Youngkin disagreed. In his veto statement for Hashmi’s bill, he said it could “subject parents, political subdivisions, and medical professionals to litigation even when acting within their legal rights and professional bounds.”
It’s the same point Senator David Suetterlein, who said he otherwise supports a right to contraception, made on the Senate floor when the bill was debated during the 2025 session.
“That might be very exciting for attorneys, but that’s not what we’re actually trying to do on contraceptives,” Suetterlein said.
But Hashmi said the bill does the opposite, pointing to language in the bill that subjects localities and the state itself to legal liability for limiting contraception access, not doctors.
“This legislation protects medical professionals from facing lawsuits should the repeal of the right to contraception go into effect federally,” Hashmi said.
This is the second time such an effort made it to the governor’s desk. Hashmi said she’d bring it again next year once Youngkin is out of office.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger tells Radio IQ she’d sign it. Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears voted against it during the session but said in a statement, "Virginians already have broad access, and this legislation is more about pushing a political agenda than protecting women’s health."
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
