Virginia's Democrat-controlled legislature already made the state one of the most abortion-friendly in the South.
Now they want voters to lock unlimited abortion into the state constitution for good.
One Catholic bishop just took a stand no bishop in his diocese has taken before.
What Bishop Burbidge Says Question 1 Would Actually Allow
Bishop Michael Burbidge did something this weekend he says he has never done before in the Diocese of Arlington.
He told every priest in all 70 of his parishes to stop the Mass and read a letter out loud.
That letter reached more than 430,000 Catholics across Northern Virginia by the end of the weekend.
Its message was simple: vote no on Question 1, vote no on Question 2, and vote now.
Question 1 would add a constitutional right to abortion in Virginia.
Burbidge argues the real language behind that right would create "unregulated abortions, performed by unlicensed abortion practitioners at any time during pregnancy."
He says it would strip parents out of the room the moment a minor daughter seeks one.
Picture a scared sixteen-year-old girl in Fairfax finding out she's pregnant.
Under Question 1, she could walk into an abortion facility alone, and her mother would never have to know.
Under current Virginia law, a licensed physician still has to sign off on an abortion once a pregnancy reaches the later stages.
Question 1 would erase that safeguard entirely, according to Burbidge's letter.
Question 1 is officially titled the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment.
Question 2 would strike the state's 2006 definition of marriage as one man and one woman from the constitution.
Burbidge says the amendment would "enshrine gender ideology by falsely separating the reality of one's sex and gender."
Question 2 is officially titled the Repeal Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment.
Preaching at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Fairfax, Burbidge told parishioners the amendments fail "to respect the rights of parents in the lives of their children" and fail "the sanctity of marriage as Jesus taught."
"We must vote no to those questions and say yes to truth," he said.
The Same Playbook That Beat Abortion Amendments in Florida and Michigan
Virginia Democrats did not invent this fight.
Michigan's seven Catholic dioceses mailed a nearly identical warning to 236,000 households before that state's 2022 abortion amendment vote.
They called it "the most extreme proposal concerning abortion this state or country has ever seen."
Michigan's amendment passed anyway that November.
Two years later, the same playbook started working.
Florida voters rejected a similar amendment outright, and the Florida Catholic Conference said it was "profoundly relieved at the defeat."
Nebraska and South Dakota voters did the same thing that same November, breaking a winning streak pro-abortion activists had built ever since Roe v. Wade fell.
Virginia Democratic State Senator Jennifer Boysko is already running the same counterplay those states saw, calling the bishops' warning on Question 1 a "scare tactic."
Former State Senator Adam Ebbin dismissed the bishops' warning on marriage as "misguided."
Boysko never disputed that Question 1 would strip the licensing requirements Burbidge says it would.
Why Burbidge Is Asking for a Holy Hour Before Virginia's Election Day
This is not a new fight for the church.
For two decades, Catholic teaching has treated abortion and the definition of marriage as non-negotiables, not policy debates Catholics get to shrug off.
Burbidge is not improvising here, and he is not bluffing.
Burbidge has been careful to say this fight is not partisan.
"The church is not partisan," he wrote in his letter.
"The church never advocates for or against specific candidates or parties," he added.
That restraint is exactly why this letter landed so hard this weekend.
A bishop does not interrupt Mass in 70 parishes on the same weekend unless he believes lives are actually on the line.
Burbidge's diocese has scheduled a Tuesday morning holy hour at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, built entirely around these two ballot questions.
Early voting opens Friday, and Election Day is November 3.
"Every vote matters," Burbidge said on his podcast.
"We have to defeat these amendments," he said.
Sources:
- Robert Bluey, "A Rare Move by a Virginia Bishop Ahead of Election Day," The Daily Signal, September 13, 2026.
- "Vote NO: Virginia Bishops Instruct Catholics on Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage Amendments," Cardinal News, September 3, 2026.
- "Michigan Bishops Say 'Extreme' Ballot Measure on Abortion Goes Beyond Roe," CatholicPhilly, October 12, 2022.
- "Voters in 3 States Reject Abortion Ballot Measures, Defying Trend Around Country," Catholic Standard, November 2024.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship."
