“We haven’t had someone who will push back against all these attacks we are facing on our reproductive healthcare, so there is so much at stake in this election.”
Richmond, VA – Yesterday, Democratic nominee for Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones held a roundtable discussion with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia leaders, reproductive healthcare providers, and abortion-access storytellers. Jones led a conversation on reproductive healthcare access in Virginia and the Attorney General’s role in defending abortion rights. The conversation underscored Virginia’s role as the last state in the South without an abortion ban, and the critical need for an Attorney General who will safeguard Virginians’ rights against MAGA Republican attacks.
Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director of PPAV, warned of the dangers of Republican leadership:
“Virginia is the last state in the South that hasn’t passed a post-Roe abortion ban, but at the same time, the right to reproductive freedom is not protected in Virginia’s Constitution. Republican extremists have proven that there is no bottom, that the end goal was never the repeal of Roe, and that they have stripped people of their ability to use Medicaid to access critical reproductive health services. Our current attorney general would sit by and continue to let that happen.”
Lockhart also emphasized how much is on the line in 2025:
“Hopefully, Virginia voters themselves get to protect the range of reproductive freedom in Virginia’s Constitution. A hostile attorney general could attempt to undermine or interfere with the Constitutional amendment. They could also try to block access to care or support efforts to defund critical health services.”
Dr. Ramesh, Chief Medical Officer of PPAV, stressed the risks to health care providers if Virginia falls further behind:
“[We need] an Attorney General who is going to protect medical providers, because if a medical provider is in a state where they are at risk of potentially being arrested for performing what they believe is medically necessary, they’re quite likely to move to another state, which means we have less access to regular health care.”
Jay Jones made clear that protecting reproductive freedom will be at the heart of his work as Attorney General:
“There is a really stark choice come November about the future of women’s healthcare here in Virginia. The history and the voting record of my opponent, as it relates to women’s health care, are abysmal, and the way that he has used his office to undermine women’s healthcare has been very disappointing.
“We deserve an attorney general who’s going to put women first and support broad healthcare access across the board here in Virginia. I look forward to using what we have on the books to offer the best care for our communities.”
See coverage from the event:
WRIC: Jay Jones outlines plans to protect reproductive rights as attorney general
Tyler Englander | August 25, 2025
Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, is outlining how he would protect reproductive rights in Virginia if elected.
Jones told 8News that the plan starts with creating a reproductive rights hotline with the attorney general’s office — allowing women to get information about their reproductive rights in Virginia.
“This hotline is an easy way for us to connect with the community, for us to let people know that we are there, and that we are able to tackle any challenges that we see and support them in their times of need,” Jones told 8News.
“We want to make sure that women across Virginia know that we have their back, that they have the access to the healthcare that they need, and that we continue to demonstrate in Virginia that we’re a leader in the healthcare space,” he said.
“My sincere hope is that we get a Democratic majority in the House of Delegates to pass this again,” he said. “This will just enshrine protections in our constitution that women in Virginia deserve, and I look forward to defending this as the next Attorney General of Virginia.”
8News reached out to Attorney General Jason Miyares’ campaign to get a response to Jones’ plan, but they declined to comment.
