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2025 General Assembly Session Recap

2025 General Assembly Session: How Did Your Legislators Vote?

During the 2025 Virginia General Assembly session, your state senator and delegate cast key votes on critical issues impacting human life, dignity and the common good. This report contains two charts:

A Senate chart showing how your senator voted; and
A House chart showing how your delegate voted.

In both charts, legislators’ votes on the “Opposing Extreme Abortion Amendment” item are highlighted, due to the particularly high level of inquiry the Virginia Catholic Conference received about this proposed constitutional amendment.

At the conclusion of the report are:

Descriptions of Legislation featured in the charts, organized into three categories – Life & Liberty, Families & Children, and Social & Economic Concerns.
An Index of Legislation, for those interested in more detail than what the brief bill descriptions provide.

Read the Full Report (PDF)

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Mindful of the two-year process attempting to add an extreme abortion amendment to Virginia’s constitution, the VCC has prepared a customized vote report for every parish in the commonwealth. The report shows how the legislators who represent a parish area voted on highly consequential issues earlier this year. (Note each parish has two reports, one for its delegate and one for its senator.) Use the buttons below to access the reports for your diocese!

Pastors and parish leaders, please prayerfully consider providing your parish’s VCC-prepared vote report to your parishioners, so they will know how their legislators voted on the abortion amendment and other important issues. Knowing the outcomes and how your legislators voted is a critical part of staying informed and engaged.

Diocese of Arlington

Diocese of Richmond

Descriptions of Legislation

LIFE & LIBERTY

Opposing Extreme Abortion Amendment: The VCC opposed a resolution proposing to enshrine a “right” to abortion in Virginia’s constitution. The resolution, which would allow virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy, passed the Senate and House. (See Senate and House charts.)*

Protecting Parental Consent: During the Senate floor debate on the extreme abortion amendment, Senator Tara Durant (R – Fredericksburg) offered a VCC-supported amendment to require Virginia’s parental consent law to remain in effect. The Senate, however, rejected this proposed parental consent amendment. (See Senate chart.)

Protecting Babies Born Alive: During the Senate floor debate on the extreme abortion amendment, Senator Emily Jordan (R – Smithfield) offered a VCC-supported amendment to require that any baby born alive after an attempted abortion “shall be provided the same level of care and treatment as any infant or person seeking care and treatment in a medical facility.” The Senate, however, rejected this proposed amendment to protect babies born alive after attempted abortions. (See Senate chart.)

Opposing Contraceptive Mandate: The VCC opposed legislation to require health plans to cover all drugs the FDA defines as contraceptives – including those that can cause abortions. The bill passed the Senate and House. (See Senate and House charts.)

Protecting Peaceful Pro-Life Witness: The VCC opposed a bill that would establish a buffer zone around abortion clinics, thereby restricting the ability of pro-life advocates to share life-affirming information and resources. The measure passed the Senate and House. (See Senate and House charts.)

FAMILIES & CHILDREN

Protecting Marriage: The VCC opposed a resolution proposing to repeal the one-man/one-woman marriage provision in Virginia’s constitution – a provision approved by Virginia voters in 2006 with strong support by the VCC. The resolution to repeal this longstanding provision passed the Senate and House. (See Senate and House charts.)*

Preserving Conscience & Parental Rights: The VCC opposed legislation seeking to grant minors a “right” to undergo sterilization procedures and obtain contraceptives. The proposal would also undermine the religious liberty and conscience rights of hospitals and health clinics that do not provide sterilization procedures or contraceptives due to their beliefs. The measure passed the Senate and House. (See Senate and House charts.)

Opposing Marijuana Commercialization: Although Virginia enacted legislation in 2021 to legalize marijuana possession and home cultivation, legislation to allow the sale of marijuana – including high-potency THC – in “pot shops” was not included in that legislation. For the second consecutive year, the Senate and House passed an expansive commercialization measure. (See Senate and House charts.) The VCC opposes commercialization because of the severe risks of mass-marketed THC to children, health and public safety.

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC CONCERNS

Limiting Isolated Confinement: The Senate and House passed a VCC-supported measure to place a clear limit on the amount of time an incarcerated person can be held in isolated confinement. (See Senate and House charts.)

Restoring Voting Rights: A VCC-supported resolution proposing to amend Virginia’s constitution to guarantee the restoration of voting rights to all who have completed their sentences passed the Senate and House. (See Senate and House charts.)*

Reducing Drug Costs: A VCC-supported proposal to establish a regulatory framework to make especially expensive prescription drugs more affordable passed the Senate and House. (See Senate and House charts.)

* These resolutions are the first step in the two-year process required to amend Virginia’s constitution.

Learn More About the Virginia Catholic Conference!

What We Do

Led by Diocese of Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and Diocese of Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout, the Conference advocates for:

Respect life initiatives that protect human life and dignity in every stage of development and circumstance, from conception until natural death.

Social justice initiatives that protect the rights and serve the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable members of the human family, including children, the elderly, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees.

Family life and education initiatives that preserve and support religious liberty, the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the family and parental choice in their children’s education.

During the 2025 General Assembly session, the VCC took positions on close to 70 bills, testified in front of various committees and subcommittees, sent over 20 email and text alerts, and advocated directly with members of the General Assembly.

How We Do It

The Conference advocates by:

Building and maintaining relationships with state and federal lawmakers, as well as other advocacy organizations with shared interests.

Supporting diocesan efforts by providing resources that apply Church teaching to current issues.

Promoting grassroots and grasstops advocacy among Catholics and other people of goodwill. This includes using the VCC email advocacy network and in-person advocacy, such as visits to legislators’ district or capital city offices.

Communicating regularly with parishes and Catholic entities, as well as Catholic and secular print, electronic and social media.

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