The results of the midterm elections Nov. 3 dealt a heavy blow to pro-life protections in Virginia and across the nation.
There’s no sugarcoating that passage of Ballot Question 1 to amend Virginia’s state constitution regarding abortion has made it one of the most dangerous states for unborn children in America.
Even in the wake of such a heavy loss, we have reason to hope — and more reason than ever to step off the sidelines.
For many women, abortion is a decision born of desperation, not choice. Often these are single mothers in their 20s already taking care of older children and living below the poverty line.
The new constitutional amendment did nothing to address these underlying challenges.
According to an article published by Charlotte Lozier Institute, a research and education institute of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, 60% of women who have abortions would have preferred to give birth had they received more emotional or financial support. Real help comes from the neighbors in her community who provide the support she needs to be the mom she wants to be to the baby she carries.
Communities across Virginia are already doing this work. Pregnancy centers, food pantries, pro-life doctors, lawyers and car mechanics help ensure pregnant and parenting women receive the emotional and material support that empowers them to thrive. Her PLAN works in local communities to connect these and other existing life-affirming resources and fill unmet needs.
For example, in 2025, community members in Leesburg started a transportation fund to help abortion-vulnerable women get to school, work and childcare. Other community coalitions are in the process of creating solutions for mothers experiencing homelessness or unsafe living situations.
Proponents of the radical amendment enshrining abortion in our state constitution promised empowerment. But when the dust settles and a vulnerable woman battling addiction or facing financial struggles and homelessness wants support to keep her baby, what will they tell her? They’ll say abortion is her best — or only — option. They’ll say she can’t be a good mom right now because of her circumstances. They’ll tell her to have an abortion and “take care of the problem.”
One of the most demeaning things someone can say to a woman is that she can’t be a good mom. But what should be a cultural taboo has become a societally accepted norm, strategically disguised as empowerment.
The unstated message behind each abortion appointment and abortion drug sent in the mail without any consideration for women’s health and safety is that the recipient of those drugs or the woman sitting in that waiting room can’t be a good mom. It’s that she’s too poor, too addicted, too alone to care for the child in her womb.
That doesn’t sound like empowerment to me.
I’m hopeful because pro-life Americans are standing in the gap and fighting back against the cultural lie that abortion is the only option for women facing immense challenges. We believe she deserves better. We believe she and her children have immense dignity and are worthy of community-based support that will meet their real needs. And we have put that belief into action by building a local pro-life safety net of support that’s ready to help her when she needs it most.
Every vulnerable mother deserves to know that she isn’t alone and that she can be a good mom. By strengthening current programs and establishing new resources to address unmet needs, our local communities can be the difference between life and death, between belonging and isolation. When her culture, family, politics and boyfriend tell her she’ll never make it as a mom, we’ll tell her she can, and we’ll be there to support her every step of the way.
The election results dealt a heavy blow to protections for our littlest Virginians in the womb and their mothers. I hope all pro-life Virginians take this as a wakeup call to get involved in your local pro-life safety net. Donate diapers to your local pregnancy center. Host a car maintenance day for moms at your church. Pray for pregnant and parenting moms who feel alone. All of us have a role to play in countering the abortion industry’s lies with real, empowering support.
The time is now. Moms and their babies are counting on us.
Simmons, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Church in Warrenton, is Virginia community development director for Her PLAN.
All Saints Day