Current Status - Virginia

As of June 2026 — women’s rights in Virginia continue to move in a more expansionary direction, particularly around reproductive health and maternal care. However, many key protections still rely on statute rather than constitutional guarantees, leaving future policy direction closely tied to elections, courts, and political control.

Attention in May centered on constitutional amendments and voting representation. Virginia voters are expected to decide in November whether to add reproductive freedom and marriage equality protections to the state constitution. Meanwhile, the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision to block a voter-approved congressional redistricting amendment has intensified debate over voting rights, representation, and the role courts play in reviewing voter-approved changes.

Also in May, Governor Spanberger vetoed a proposal that would have added menopause and perimenopause as explicitly protected categories under the Virginia Human Rights Act, stating that existing sex and age discrimination protections already apply and that additional study is needed before expanding the law.

Recent legislation strengthened maternal health services through expanded mental health screenings, additional support for high-risk pregnancies, and improved tracking of severe pregnancy complications. Lawmakers also approved broader contraceptive coverage requirements, continuing efforts to expand healthcare access.

Across other areas—including education and gender-related policy—debates remain active, though several proposed restrictions failed to advance during the 2026 legislative session.

Top 5 Things to Know

Reproductive freedom could become part of Virginia’s constitution. Voters are expected to decide in November whether to add protections for abortion, contraception, and fertility care to the state constitution.
Voting and political representation are facing new legal uncertainty. After voters approved a congressional redistricting amendment in April, the Virginia Supreme Court blocked the new maps from taking effect, triggering an ongoing appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Virginia has established a legal right to contraception.
A newly signed law guarantees access to birth control and protects providers, preventing state or local governments from restricting contraceptive care.
Virginia expanded maternal health protections this spring. Newly signed “Momnibus” legislation increases maternal mental health screenings, expands support for high-risk pregnancies, and improves tracking of severe pregnancy complications.
Virginia vetoed a workplace menopause protections bill.
A proposal to explicitly prohibit menopause-related discrimination was vetoed, leaving existing sex and age discrimination protections in place.

Women's Health

Virginia stands out as one of the few Southern states where abortion remains legal past the first trimester and where lawmakers have advanced long-term constitutional protections. At the same time, the political environment remains active, with reproductive rights a defining issue of recent election cycles. And unlike states that have locked protections into their constitutions or adopted shield laws, Virginia still relies on statute rather than constitutional protection—leaving its reproductive rights landscape exposed to rapid change, for now.

Reproductive Rights

Lawmakers advanced a reproductive freedom constitutional amendment in 2025. In January 2026, the Virginia Senate again advanced the amendment, placing it on the November 2026 ballot, pending any legal challenges to the amendment process.
In 2026, Virginia established a legal right to contraception and approved additional insurance coverage requirements for FDA-approved contraceptives, including some over-the-counter options. Beginning in 2027, privately insured Virginians will also gain expanded no-cost contraceptive coverage, including some over-the-counter options, under the Contraceptive Equity Act.
Virginia passed nation-leading reproductive and menstrual data privacy protections, blocking law enforcement and private companies from accessing certain health data without consent.
The state has not adopted a full “shield law” to protect abortion providers in the state, but it does bar out-of-state entities from obtaining menstrual data, and it limits cooperation on certain data requests.

Healthcare Access

Virginia maintains an expanded Medicaid program, with 12-month postpartum coverage and relatively stable maternal health benefits.
In April 2026, Virginia enacted a package of maternal health laws expanding mental health screenings, increasing support for high-risk pregnancies, and improving statewide tracking of severe pregnancy complications.
Rural hospital and OBGYN service reductions continue to create uneven access, especially in the south and southwest parts of the state.
Implementation of reproductive privacy laws is ongoing, and compliance questions have become a new focus in late 2025.

Workplace Rights

Virginia offers strong protections for pregnant workers but remains one of the only East Coast states without paid family leave or a minimum wage indexed to inflation.

The Virginia Human Rights Act protects workers from discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions.
State law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations—including light duty, schedule changes, pumping breaks, and seating—for pregnant and postpartum workers.
A series of 2025 bills to expand paid family leave, raise the minimum wage, and strengthen worker safety passed the legislature but were vetoed, leaving protections largely unchanged.

Violence & Safety

Virginia has more legal tools than many Southern states for removing firearms from people who pose a serious risk and for helping survivors of domestic violence seek protection. However, how these laws are used has varied across the state.

In February, lawmakers voted to expand the state’s red-flag law. SB495 broadens who can ask a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone considered a danger to themselves or others and clarifies the warning signs judges should consider when making that decision. The measure is awaiting action by the governor.
Survivors have access to civil protective orders and certain housing protections, including the ability to terminate leases early when fleeing violence.

Voting & Civic Participation

Virginia maintains broad voting access compared to many Southern states, but recent court rulings and redistricting disputes have created new uncertainty around political representation and voting protections.

In May, Virginia enacted new voter-list maintenance procedures requiring additional verification safeguards before registrations can be canceled, limiting how federal citizenship databases may be used, and requiring notice to voters before removal from the rolls.

In April, voters approved a constitutional amendment related to congressional redistricting. The Virginia Supreme Court later ruled the amendment unconstitutional, preventing the new maps from taking effect. The decision is now being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The dispute comes amid broader national changes following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Voting Rights Act ruling, which has prompted new redistricting battles across several states.

Virginia remains one of only three states with a constitutional lifetime ban on voting for people with felony convictions. Currently, only the governor can restore those rights on a case-by-case review. However, a ballot measure in November will let voters decide whether to make the restoration of voting rights automatic upon release from incarceration.

Education

Virginia’s education landscape continues to reflect ongoing policy conflicts over transgender student rights, book removals, and the interpretation of “sexually explicit” materials laws.

Several proposals introduced in the 2026 legislative session to further restrict gender-related policies in schools did not advance, leaving existing rules largely unchanged while signaling continued legislative focus on these issues.

An October 2025 directive ordered the Board of Health to draft statewide rules limiting transgender students’ participation in girls’ sports and access to facilities.
A late-2025 review resurfaced findings of 220 book removals across Virginia since 2020, often due to school districts misapplying a 2022 law intended for classroom instruction rather than libraries.
LGBTQ+ titles and stories about gender identity make up a disproportionate share of removed books.

The states revisiting voting maps after the April VRA ruling (May 26)
2026 Elections - Virginia (May 26)
Reproductive Freedom Amendment heads toward a 2026 vote in Virginia (Nov 25)
Transgender students targeted in new VA state directive (Nov 25)
New lawsuit says Virginia is disenfranchising college voters - especially at HBCUs (Nov 25)
Gun-safety law leaves gaps in Virginia’s safety landscape (Nov 25)
Why stories about girls and LGBTQ+ youth are disappearing from some Virginia schools (Oct 25)
Virginia expands privacy protections for reproductive and sexual health data (Oct 25)
Virginia is becoming a regional access point for abortion care (Sep 25)