Constitutional amendment; fundamental right to reproductive freedom(submitting to qualified voters).
Summary
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, election to approve or reject an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia relating to the right to make one's own decisions related to reproductive health care, including access to abortion. The amendment protects patients and their doctors and nurses from being punished for making such decisions. The amendment allows the state to place restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient's life or physical or mental health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive. This bill is identical to SB 449.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jan 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Feb 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026
Signed Feb 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Chaptered
·
4 edits
MODERATE
This bill was formally enacted and approved as Chapter 2 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive policy content of the constitutional amendment regarding reproductive freedom remains unchanged from the enrolled version. The primary differences are formatting and presentation changes typical of the transition from draft to final chaptered legislation.
TECHNICAL
Added chapter designation 'CHAPTER 2' and approval date 'Approved February 6, 2026' to formalize the bill's enactment status.
Changed the header from 'VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- CHAPTER' to 'VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY - 2026 SESSION' to reflect the specific session year.
Added page numbering '2 of 2' at the end of the document to indicate this is the final page of the chaptered bill.
Adjusted line breaks and formatting throughout the document to comply with official chaptered bill formatting standards, though all substantive text remains identical.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 2, 2026 · House of Delegates Jan 29, 2026
How they voted
20–19
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 2, 2026
D
Democratic20
100% Yea
R
Republican19
100% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
22
Key actions
8
Committee
4
Feb 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 2 (Effective February 6, 2026)
executive
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB781ER)
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Jan 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections (7-Y 6-N)
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (64-Y 35-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Privileges and Elections (15-Y 7-N)
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
lower
1 primary · 20 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Charniele Herring
DDemocratic
Co
Alex Askew
DDemocratic
Co
Amy Laufer
DDemocratic
Co
Atoosa Reaser
DDemocratic
Co
Betsy Carr
DDemocratic
Co
Cia Price
DDemocratic
Co
David Reid
DDemocratic
Co
Destiny LeVere Bolling
DDemocratic
Co
Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
DDemocratic
Co
Garrett McGuire
DDemocratic
Co
Holly Seibold
DDemocratic
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