www.thecentersquare.com – By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-02-18 12:42:00
(The Center Square) – A bill establishing the right to access and use FDA-approved contraceptives in Virginia is headed to Gov. Glenn Youngkin following approval from both the Senate and House of Delegates as the 2025 General Assembly session approaches its final week.
The Senate on Tuesday passed the final version 21-19 before sending it to the Governor for consideration. Senate Bill 1105, introduced by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, protects the right of people to use and doctors to prescribe contraception, including the pill, IUDs, emergency contraceptives, condoms, and sterilization procedures.
The governor will have until March 24, 2025, to sign, veto, or propose amendments. If he does not act, the bill will automatically become law.
SB1105 passed the House 54-41 on Friday with a substitute. It had 21-18 Senate approval Jan. 28.
The proposal comes nearly a year after Younkin vetoed a similar bill stating, “I support contraception access. Of course, there is no question today that access is protected under the Constitution.
“As the issue continues to be deliberated by the Legislature, and recognizing the diverse religious, ethical, and moral beliefs of Virginians, any contraception-related changes must be coupled with robust conscience clause protections for providers and also must uphold the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning their children’s upbringing and care.”
The General Assembly is in its final scheduled week of session, meaning any remaining bills will need to move quickly through a final vote before the session ends Saturday.
The House substitute added two new lines to the original bill. It specified “that nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit or sanction the performance of any sterilization procedure without the patient’s voluntary and informed consent.”
Hashmi stated that these additions aligned the Senate bill with the House Bill.
Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., have legal or constitutional protections that ensure the right to contraception. Some states, including California, Michigan and Vermont, passed constitutional amendments in 2022 to safeguard reproductive autonomy, while others, such as Minnesota, New Mexico and the District of Columbia, have enacted laws to protect access to contraceptives.
These protection measures started to expand after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned federal abortion rights.
A KFF poll found that abortion was a major issue in the 2024 presidential election, with 12% of voters citing it as their top concern. Roughly 40% of voters believed election outcomes would have some impact on contraception.
www.youtube.com – NBC4 Washington – 2025-07-11 12:53:52
SUMMARY: Tomorrow night, a memorial will be held at Hillstone Apartments in Southeast to mark 25 years since Susan Gross’s 1999 murder near Union Station, DC. Susan, 24, was found stabbed to death in her basement apartment. Police arrested 70-year-old George Mudd, a neighbor, after DNA evidence was rediscovered last year. The cold case had stalled partly because the FBI lost crucial DNA data. Susan’s friends appreciate the arrest but remain upset by past media portrayals focusing unfairly on her former dancing job. Despite the tragedy, they hope the new coverage reflects her more accurately and respectfully.
Loved ones of Susan Cvengros are speaking out about how news coverage of the cold case made much out of the fact that she previously worked as a dancer at a club in Georgetown. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.
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Federal funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in Virginia is temporarily blocked due to a new provision in Congress’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed by President Trump, which halts Medicaid payments for up to a year. Planned Parenthood sued and won a two-week restraining order, with further hearings set for July 21. About 700-800 Virginia patients use Medicaid monthly at these clinics, which provide services beyond abortion, including contraception, cancer screenings, and STI testing. Nearly 30% of abortions at Virginia clinics are for out-of-state patients, as neighboring states have tightened abortion laws. The funding freeze affects essential reproductive health care for low-income families.
Federal funding to Planned Parenthood facilities in Virginia and across the nation are tied up in legal battles for the time being. A provision in Congress’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed by President Donald Trump last week would block Medicaid payments for services at facilities like Planned Parenthood for up to a year.
Planned Parenthood sued the Trump administration over the provision on Monday and a district court judge granted the organization a two-week restraining order against the federal government. On Friday, the Department of Justice called the judge’s order unlawful and asked for it to be withdrawn, saying the judge “didn’t follow procedure and should have given the government’s lawyers time to respond before ruling,” States Newsroom reported.
In the commonwealth, about 700 to 800 patients per month use Medicaid to pay for services, said RaeAnn Pickett, communications director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. The organization’s clinics serve around 25,000 patients overall per year at its facilities around the state, she said.
The next set of arguments in Planned Parenthood’s case will occur on July 21 and determine whether a longer pause will be granted. Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that some clinics in the country have posted notices on their websites alerting patients they can no longer accept Medicaid in order to comply with the law.
While the national organization has drawn ire from anti-abortion advocates and many Republicans over the years for ending pregnancies, that is just one of the health care services the group provides. Planned Parenthood clinics around the nation also offer cancer screenings, sexual health testing, contraception and breast exams.
The most recent data from 2023, Pickett said, shows that Virginia’s centers provided contraception to over 12,000 patients, conducted more than 12,000 sexually transmitted disease tests, performed nearly 1,300 breast exams and performed 705 cervical cancer screenings (which yielded 53 abnormal results, prompting patients to seek follow-up care).
“Every cancer that goes undetected, every STI that goes untreated, every patient who can’t get birth control or abortion care when they need it — all of it is on their hands,” Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia director Jamie Lockart said in a statement as Congress was passing the reconciliation bill.
Federal law has long prohibited Medicaid coverage from funding abortions, save for specific circumstances. The organization emphasizes that targeting Medicaid funding being used in its facilities will actually affect other components of reproductive health care that low-income families rely on.
“The Defund Provision is a naked attempt to leverage the government’s spending power to attack and penalize Planned Parenthood and impermissibly single it out for unfavorable treatment,” the organization said in the filing.
Earlier this year, three Planned Parenthood clinics in Virginia were affected by the Trump administration’s freeze on Title X funding — a decades-old federal program that helps extremely low income families access family planning care at little to no cost. That equaled about 11,000 Virginia patients who were subject to higher costs for care.
In states like Virginia without tight restrictions or bans on abortion, organizations like Planned Parenthood have been a critical access point for travelers seeking abortions.
Pickett said that close to 30% of abortions provided by Planned Parenthood are from out-of-state patients — meaning that about 3,000 people are traveling for care. Overall abortion providers in Virginia have reported a rise in out-of-state patients in recent years, as surrounding states have enacted restrictions or near-total bans on the procedure.
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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This article provides detailed coverage of Planned Parenthood’s legal battle over Medicaid funding, highlighting the organization’s role in providing broad healthcare services beyond abortion. The language emphasizes the negative consequences of funding restrictions on low-income patients and reproductive health access, and it includes supportive quotes from Planned Parenthood representatives. While factual in reporting legal developments, the framing and choice of details subtly align with a center-left perspective by focusing on access to healthcare, the impact on marginalized groups, and criticizing government actions seen as punitive toward Planned Parenthood.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-07-10 19:19:54
SUMMARY: Chief Meteorologist Tim Panda reports a quiet start to the 2025 hurricane season on July 10th, with both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins showing little activity despite nearing the peak in early to mid-September. A notable historical reference was Hurricane Dennis, a weakening Category 4 that hit Pensacola as a Category 3 on this date in 2005. Currently, high pressure and dry air suppress storms in the Atlantic, though some tropical waves are present near Africa. The Northern Gulf shows a low 20% chance of development in the next two weeks. The East Pacific is also quiet after an active start.
While there’s not much tropical activity at the moment, Chief Meteorologist Tim Pandajis looks even further into the future using the latest long-range models.
