FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPress Contact: Mary Olivia Rentner
mary.olivia@virginiansforreproductivefreedom.org
June 24, 2026
RICHMOND, Va – Today marks the fourth anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, reversing half a century of precedent and depriving millions of people of a right to abortion.
Since then, states around the country have enacted dangerous abortion restrictions and bans that have delayed care, worsened health outcomes, and stripped autonomy from pregnant people and their families.
Because Virginia’s Constitution does not recognize the right to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, the Commonwealth is vulnerable to similar bans. But this year in Virginia is different. This year, we have hope. We have an opportunity to build a better future. We have an amendment to protect reproductive healthcare on the ballot in November, putting this choice in the hands of Virginians, not politicians.
“I am 53 years old. I was born in 1973, the same year that Roe came to us,” said Nicole Subryan Bailey, a registered nurse who shared her abortion story at Virginians for Reproductive Freedom’s Dobbs Anniversary Roundtable. “I was there when it was overturned at the age of 49–it didn’t quite make it to 50–and I was at the Supreme Court at the time, and I remember just feeling just so dejected and disgusted that women across this country were going to die because of this decision.”
“The Virginia Reproductive Freedom Amendment offers a different path,” said Dr. Susan Miller, a retired family physician. “It maintains Virginia’s role as a beacon of hope in the South and protects both patients and clinicians from government interference. All people must have the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies, and doctors and nurses must be free to advise and counsel based on best medical knowledge.”
“I’ve worked with countless people seeking care. Each of them has their own unique story,” said Amanda Pittman, an advocate for reproductive freedom and an abortion doula who shared her abortion story at VRF’s Dobbs Anniversary Roundtable. “Many of them already have small children or older children. I’ve worked with people who didn’t think that they were able to get pregnant, who have had other complications, and being able to access the care that they needed in a timely manner was of the essence for them. And I’m here to make sure that, you know, everybody’s able to continue to get that care without any impediments.”
“This amendment is something that every single Virginian has the opportunity to make themselves involved in,” said Han Jones, Campaign Manager with Virginians for Reproductive Freedom. “Every Virginian has the opportunity to vote between September 18th and November 3rd. Every Virginian has the opportunity to share their story and talk to their family and friends and neighbors about why this matters so much to them. Every Virginian has the opportunity to get involved in our campaign and join us.”
To get involved with our campaign and be a part of history, please visit va4reprofreedom.org and follow us on social media.
If you would like to interview a reproductive healthcare storyteller or a doctor like those from our Dobbs Anniversary Roundtables about the amendment, please reach out to Mary Olivia Rentner.
To access videos from the event, please request access to this folder.
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Virginians for Reproductive Freedom is a coalition of Virginia families, doctors, nurses, and advocacy organizations working to ensure we can make reproductive health care decisions free from government interference.