.- The Virginia Catholic Conference (VCC) has urged the passage of a proposed budget amendment to restrict state funding of abortions, saying it is an “unprecedented opportunity” to eliminate the vast majority of state-funded abortions.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed the amendment, which will be considered by the Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday.
A press release from the VCC said that Virginia has funded abortions “for reasons that go well beyond even what federal and state statutes require.”
The Catholic bishops of Virginia “strongly support” the amendment, urging Catholics to ask their legislators to vote in favor of the amendment and to alert other Virginians to the need to pass it. Its website provides a form for Virginians to contact their legislators.
The VCC said “countless lives” can be saved, possibly more than 100 per year.
“In prayer and in public, your voices are urgently needed to bring Gospel values to bear on decisions that literally determine life and death!” the Conference said.
