Virginia Catholic bishops Michael Burbidge and Barry Knestout condemned the General Assembly for passing a proposed constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights. The amendment, which passed both chambers quickly, is described by the bishops as extreme, potentially allowing abortion throughout pregnancy with no age restrictions. The proposed amendment could undermine existing Virginia laws regarding parental consent, healthcare safety standards, and conscience protections for providers. The amendment provides no protections for preborn children and will proceed to a statewide referendum later in 2026. The Church plans to be deeply engaged in educating voters and fighting against the amendment before the referendum.
about 2 months ago
Virginia's Catholic bishops, Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Barry Knestout of Richmond, issued a joint statement on January 16 condemning the state General Assembly's passage of a proposed constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights.1 2
They described it as an "extreme and deadly 'fundamental right' to abortion," passed swiftly through both chambers in three days.1 2
The "Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment" would establish a broad right to "reproductive freedom," including abortion care free from undue government interference.2
Bishops warn it exceeds Roe v. Wade, permitting abortion at any stage of pregnancy without age limits.1 2
It now advances to a statewide referendum later in 2026 for voter approval.1 2
The amendment would jeopardize parental consent laws, women's health standards, healthcare providers' conscience protections, and restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortions.1 2
It offers "no protections whatsoever for preborn children," the bishops stated, emphasizing human life's sacredness.1 2
Additional threats include potential assisted suicide legalization and a measure repealing the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.1 2
The bishops pledge to "deeply engage" in educating voters and "fight the extreme abortion amendment with maximum determination."1 2
They support restoring voting rights for those who completed sentences.2
On January 15, Bishop Burbidge urged Catholics to pray, fast, and advocate amid the "looming threat," rooting responses in faith, truth, and love.1 2
He reaffirmed the Church as a "loving mother," offering mercy to those affected by abortion and promoting comprehensive life support.1 2
Evaluate Catholic doctrinal principles guiding episcopal opposition to constitutional abortion amendments
Catholic bishops' opposition to constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights stems from the Church's unwavering doctrine on the sanctity of human life, which teaches that every human being possesses an inviolable right to life from the moment of conception. This principle, rooted in divine revelation and consistently affirmed by the Magisterium, renders any legal framework that protects or promotes procured abortion incompatible with God's law, as it directly contradicts the commandment "You shall not kill." Bishops, as successors to the apostles, are duty-bound to proclaim this truth prophetically, defending the unborn against what the Church deems an "unspeakable crime."
The doctrinal basis begins with Sacred Scripture, where God declares Himself the absolute Lord of life: "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves 'the creative action of God', and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end." Genesis 9:5 underscores accountability for human life—"From man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life"—a precept echoed in the Decalogue (Ex 20:13) and reaffirmed throughout Tradition. Early Church Fathers, as noted in declarations from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, condemned abortion unequivocally: the Didache states, "You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb," while Tertullian affirmed, "To prevent birth is anticipated murder." This patristic witness opposes Greco-Roman practices and establishes the Church's continuous teaching that life must be "respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception."
Bishops draw on this heritage to evaluate constitutional proposals, recognizing that no civil authority can override divine law. The deliberate deprivation of innocent life is "always morally evil and can never be licit," with "no privileges or exceptions for anyone." A constitutional amendment protecting abortion would institutionalize such evil, placing society in direct disobedience to God, the "goel" (defender) of the innocent.
Modern genetic science bolsters this doctrine: "From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth... Right from fertilization the adventure of a human life begins." Even without empirical proof of the spiritual soul, reason discerns a personal presence, justifying an "absolutely clear prohibition" of any intervention killing the embryo. The Church's Magisterium, in Evangelium Vitae, insists: "The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life."
Episcopal opposition thus evaluates amendments not merely as policy failures but as denials of this anthropological truth, reducing persons to objects and undermining equality before moral law.
Proclaiming the "Gospel of life" calls bishops to affirm human life as "a gift of God, sacred and inviolable," demanding protection "with loving concern" rather than destruction. Abortion and euthanasia are "absolutely unacceptable," as they sever the "inseparable connection between the person, his life and his bodiliness." The family, "the sanctuary of life," bears a prophetic mission to promote this culture against an "anti-civilization." Constitutional entrenchment of abortion would violate the right to life—"the first among all rights and the condition for all other rights"—exacerbating social injustices like poverty or racism by undermining the common good.
USCCB statements exemplify this: bishops decry taxpayer funding of abortion as the "antithesis of healthcare," urging retention of protections like the Hyde Amendment, for "it is impossible to truly work against injustices... while promoting and funding the destruction of human beings in the womb." Similarly, opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment highlights risks of mandating abortion funding and deregulating it, as state analogs have done.
Humanae Vitae reinforces that no one—not individuals, nor public authorities—holds dominion over life's sources: "Man does not have unlimited dominion over his body... he has no such dominion over his specifically sexual faculties, for these are concerned... with the generation of life, of which God is the source." Direct abortion, "even for therapeutic reasons," is "absolutely excluded." Bishops oppose amendments that arrogate such power to the state, echoing the call to respect "the whole human organism and its natural functions."
Catholic hospitals and personnel must refuse "abortion on request," prioritizing conscience over legal mandates. A constitutional right to abortion would compel complicity, threatening religious freedom and the "paramount value" of life's inviolability.
Bishops' role is to shepherd souls amid cultural threats, pledging resources to educate on life's sanctity and urge legal protections "to the fullest extent possible." They reject court decisions enabling "abortion-on-request" as "bad morality, bad medicine and bad public policy," vowing opposition. This guides resistance to amendments, as seen in USCCB advocacy against expansions of abortion access.
In summary, episcopal opposition rests on the doctrinal conviction that life is sacred from conception, intrinsically ordering society toward its protection. Constitutional amendments promoting abortion defy this, prompting bishops to prophetic witness for a culture of life.