Virginia's New Law Puts Faith on Trial!

Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Virginia SB137 into law. If you've ever stood outside a clinic to pray, to offer a kind word, or to quietly let a woman know there are other options — this law affects you.

SB137 makes it a criminal offense — a Class 1 misdemeanor — to obstruct, detain, hinder, impede, block, or delay anyone entering or leaving a reproductive health facility. It also gives law enforcement the authority to issue a written withdrawal order to any individual who has interfered with access to the facility, requiring that person to stay at least 25 feet from the entrance or driveway for up to eight hours.

No one should physically block or threaten another person. But for years, women in crisis have been met outside these doors not by protesters, but by people offering real help — connections to pregnancy centers, adoption services, housing support, and hope. That ministry has saved lives. The question this law raises is where the line falls between "obstruction" and a quiet, compassionate offer of assistance — and who gets to draw it in the moment.

The bill does state that it places no restriction on the content of any message anyone may wish to communicate — a protection that was not in the original version passed by the legislature and was added by Governor Spanberger when she signed it. That is worth acknowledging. But a message you can only deliver from 25 feet away — or not at all if a withdrawal order has been issued against you — is a message that may not reach the person who needs it most.

That is a legitimate concern for religious freedom and protected speech, and it deserves a serious response.

Every Democrat in the Virginia Senate voted for this bill — 21 to 18, strictly along party lines. Governor Spanberger signed it. Legal challenges are already expected, but the courts move slowly. The fastest answer is a political one.

Tell the senators who voted for this bill that Virginians who serve women in their most vulnerable moments will not be silenced — and that you are watching what they do next.