WASHINGTON, DC – Democratic nominee for attorney general Jay Jones recently outlined his plans to protect and defend reproductive rights across Virginia, something his Republican opponent Jason Miyares has repeatedly failed to do.  

In an article by The Virginia Independent, Jones said he is wholly committed to supporting the proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would protect access to contraception, abortion care, and fertility treatment. His Republican counterpart MAGA Miyares, however, has an abysmal record when it comes to defending abortion and reproductive rights.

Key highlights: 

• “‘We deserve an attorney general who’s going to put women first and support broad healthcare access across the board here in Virginia,’ Jones said, according to his campaign website. ‘I look forward to using what we have on the books to offer the best care for our communities.’”

• “‘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,’ Jones told ABC8 News.”

• “One part of that, he told WRIC ABC8 News, would be establishing a telephone number Virginians could call to get information about reproductive rights: ‘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.’”
• “The Miyares campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.”
• “On Aug. 12, Miyares appeared in a prerecorded video, as part of a webcast titled ‘Life on the Line: How to stop the deadly abortion amendment in Virginia,’ and praised the work of the webcast organizer, the anti-abortion Family Foundation of Virginia.”
• “Miyares has a long record of opposing reproductive rights. As attorney general, he advocated for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s failed plan to ban most abortion at 15 weeks’ gestation.”
• “Before that, as a member of the House of Delegates, [Miyares] voted against the Reproductive Health Protection Act, which repealed the state’s targeted regulation of abortion providers and eliminated the requirement that women undergo an ultrasound prior to having an abortion.
• “[Miyares] also voted for a 2017 bill that would have prohibited the state from funding Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.”
• “[Jones] told the Virginia Independent in August: ‘I’ve long supported a woman’s right to choose. I’m a member of the Planned Parenthood board here in Virginia... We’ve got to get an attorney general in office who is going to protect a woman’s right to an abortion and a General Assembly that’s going to do the same. And I look forward to doing that.’”
• “In his 2021 race, Miyares benefited from more than $65,000 in independent expenditures, including radio ads, phone calls, text messages, and door knocking, funded by the political arms of anti-abortion groups the Family Foundation of Virginia, the Virginia Society for Human Life, and Women Speak Out PAC Virginia, operated by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.” 

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