RICHMOND, Virginia – Pro-life advocates rallied outside the Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, the same day legislators returned to the Capitol to consider Governor Glenn Youngkin’s changes to their legislation. Several Republican General Assembly members joined the rally, and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears spoke to the crowd.
She said, “If I were to put in a bill today, and the bill says this: abortion is only allowed in Virginia if you’re a black woman. Think about that. Only black women in Virginia could get an abortion, no one else. You know what we would say to ourselves? ‘Wait a minute, why are they trying to kill all the black babies?'”
Earle-Sears said, “You see, then it comes home to us that abortion is wicked.”
She said that Revelation 21:8 says cowards will not enter heaven.
“So we can’t be cowardly in what we’re doing because the other side is not cowardly, and we know we have right on our side. And so we will go, and we will stay on the battlefield, and we won’t ever leave, because all it takes is one more vote and we lose it again,” Earle-Sears said.
About 600 people were present, according to a Capitol Police spokesman. Youngkin did not give a speech, but did help lead the march.
“He is the first governor to join a state march,” Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb told the crowd.
At the beginning of the 2022 General Assembly session, pro-life advocates had high hopes, with a Republican majority in the House of Delegates, and a pro-life Senate Democrat who could create ties for Earle-Sears. But efforts to eliminate or curtail abortion failed.
Virginia Society for Human Life President Olivia Gans Turner said that there were roadblocks to pro-life legislation.
“Now, every step is a step forward. Don’t be frustrated because it’s a process. One of the things I say at every pro-life event like this, is learn our system, understand how it works,” she said.
“Know this: you make a difference just by being present,” she said. “When you leave, contact your delegate and your senators office. tell them you were here and why you were here.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photos by Eric Burk.
