Virginians Could Cement Abortion in Their Constitution, So Why Not Track Abortion Outcomes?
3rd October 2026
As a physician, I don’t make any decisions without assessing my patients, reviewing the data, and ensuring I’ve considered every course of action to find the best one. Before recommending treatment, I want to know not simply whether it will work, but what complications might occur and how vulnerable my patient might be if something goes wrong.
Virginia voters should expect the same rigor from our policymakers.
Yet, this November, voters have been asked to decide whether to establish a “constitutional right to reproductive freedom”—in other words, a right to abortion—even though the commonwealth itself does not require abortionists to report one remarkably basic category of information: abortion complications.
I am one of nearly 300 medical professionals in the commonwealth urging voters to reject Question 1. I oppose the amendment for several reasons, but you do not need me to share my views on abortion to see a problem here.
Virginia’s own reporting rules make it remarkably difficult to answer a straightforward public health question: What complications occur after induced abortions happen in our state?