(The Center Square) – Two abortion-related bills did not advance in the Virginia House of Delegates, with each measure stopped through committee procedures rather than recorded floor votes.
House Bill 531 and House Bill 542 were considered at different points in the legislative process but met similar outcomes, preventing either proposal from moving forward this session.
Both measures were carried by Del. Karen Hamilton, R-Culpeper.
House Bill 531 was recommended for passing by indefinitely during a subcommittee meeting earlier this month. That procedural action ends consideration of the bill for the remainder of the session.
House Bill 542 was later taken up in a House subcommittee, where lawmakers debated a substitute version of the legislation before voting to lay the measure on the table.
During her presentation, Hamilton told lawmakers the bill was designed to expand informed consent requirements without altering a woman’s legal options.
“House Bill 542 does not prohibit any choices that women currently have,” Hamilton said. “This bill is about choice, it’s about transparency, and it’s about compassion for women who are in a crisis.”
The substitute amendment removed references to newborn safety devices and instead focused on requiring providers to supply information about Virginia’s existing safe haven law.
That law allows a parent to surrender a newborn at designated locations under certain conditions without facing criminal penalties.
Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, questioned whether the legislation reflected the traditional purpose of informed consent statutes.
“It seems very presumptive that someone that is there for an abortion does not already know exactly the reason that they’re in the room,” Price said before making the motion to lay the bill on the table.
The subcommittee voted 7-1 to table House Bill 542.
Separately, lawmakers this session approved House Joint Resolution 1.
House Joint Resolution 1 is a proposed constitutional amendment concerning reproductive rights. The measure asks voters whether to add language to the Virginia Constitution establishing a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, subject to certain limitations outlined in the proposal. The amendment is scheduled to appear on ballots in November.
