Earle-Sears ‘morally opposed’ to Virginia’s reproductive rights amendment, note shows

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears signed Virginia’s in-progress reproductive rights constitutional amendment, but noted her personal objection to it in a handwritten note on the bill. 

As president of the Senate, she is legally required to sign bills that the legislature passes but she doesn’t have to add any comment to her signatures. Documents obtained by The Mercury show her explanation for why she is against Virginia’s effort to protect reproductive rights like abortion, in vitro fertilization and contraception access in Virginia’s Constitution. 

“I am morally opposed to this bill; no protection for the child,” she wrote above her signature. 

It is the second known message Earle-Sears has penned on a bill she signed but disagreed with  — the first being her note of objection scrawled on a bill last year that would prohibit officials from denying marriage licenses to same-sex or interracial couples, as The Virginia Scope first reported. It is also one of the clearest signals Earle-Sears has sent concerning her views on abortion and reproductive health care since beginning her campaign for governor.

A Sears campaign representative the Mercury reached Thursday afternoon said Earle-Sears had no comment on the matter.

The motivation behind Earle-Sears’ message

While Earle-Sears’ appearance as a keynote speaker at the Virginia March For Life has already solidified her stance in opposition to proposals that would protect abortion access in Virginia, she’s yet to speak in depth about where she may hold nuanced views on reproductive matters.

Virginia March For Life tees up constitutional amendment ahead of this year’s elections

Abortion access is one of the most politically divisive issues in the state, as Democrats work to shore up protections while Republicans largely support anti-abortion measures, with some GOP members of the legislature having carried life-at-conception bills. In the 2023 elections, many Republicans supported a proposal backed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest or life-threatening situations for the parent. It lacked fetal anomaly exceptions — several of which aren’t diagnosed until at or after 15 weeks. 

Early in her 2021 campaign for liuetenant governor, Earle-Sears had called abortion “genocide” and objected to the procedure in all instances, except for ones that could save the life of the pregnant person. Just over a month before the 2021 elections, she’d scrubbed anti-abortion messaging from her campaign website where she’d vowed to “do everything in my power” to stop abortions in Virginia. 

Because Earle-Sears’ 2021 campaign occurred before federal abortion protections were overturned, stating an opinion against abortion was more a signal to like-minded voters than a legislative promise to eradicate it. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal protections in 2022, the matter has become more salient in campaigns. Some states have fortified protections while others have enacted bans or restrictions. Virginia is currently the least-restrictive state in the south. 

As Virginia’s constitutional amendment has already passed the legislature once, it must do so again next year before appearing on ballots statewide for voters to finally approve or reject. That progress, however, hinges on Democrats retaining their majority in the House of Delegates this year, because the amendment has only advanced on partisan lines. 

Governors don’t formally advance or block constitutional amendments, but should Virginia’s fail to  advance, the next governor will be able to sign potential attempts to restrict or ban abortions within state code.

With Earle-Sears gubernatorial opponent Abigail Spanberger in support of reproductive healthcare access — to include abortions, contraception and fertility treatments — their divergences on the issue may be a deciding factor for some voters later this year.