Steve Cortes, spokesman for CatholicVote, said that Virginians do not support their state becoming an “abortion tourism destination” following an Axios report indicating Virginia as the state with the largest increase in abortions. Cortes provided his statement to Old Dominion News.
“The good people of Virginia do not want to become an abortion ‘tourism’ destination,” said Cortes, Senior Political Advisor, Spokesman. “Even those who consider themselves pro-choice, do not support this kind of racialism.”
According to an Axios report, Virginia recorded the most significant rise in clinician-provided abortions nationwide last year, based on new data from the Guttmacher Institute. The number of procedures increased from approximately 33,400 in 2023 to 39,000. This growth highlights how Virginia’s relatively unrestricted abortion laws, compared to its Southern neighbors, have influenced patient behavior following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Out-of-state patients now constitute a growing portion of those receiving abortion care in Virginia. Axios reports that this percentage rose from around 15% in 2023 to nearly 25% last year and reached almost 30% in the final six months of 2024. This shift is partly attributed to Florida’s six-week abortion ban implemented in May 2024. Voters may decide on a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion access in 2026; however, the proposal must first pass the General Assembly again in the next legislative session. Until then, Virginia’s Democrat-led legislature continues to block Republican-sponsored restrictions, though their narrow majority could face challenges in the upcoming November elections where every House of Delegates seat is contested.
SBA Pro-Life America announced plans to deploy 100 field workers targeting 150,000 voters in Richmond and Virginia Beach, according to a press release. The initiative seeks to support Republican candidates in key House of Delegates races and oppose a proposed constitutional amendment allowing abortion throughout all three trimesters. Virginia State Director Marlene Downing said: “Democrats in Richmond are determined to wipe away all limitations on abortion in Virginia, even allowing painful late-term abortions in the 7th, 8th, and 9th month of pregnancy and repealing Virginia’s parental involvement laws. Our canvassers will expose this extremism to voters in the most important House of Delegates races.”
Cortes serves as Senior Political Advisor and spokesman for Catholic Vote, a Catholic advocacy organization.
