REPRO Rising Virginia Supports Decision Made by Lynchburg Planning Commission

Alexandria, VA – The Lynchburg Planning Commission made the correct decision recently when they voted to deny proposed zoning ordinances restricting abortion clinics within the city.

“At a time when people are already at risk of losing access to healthcare, and when reproductive care is under attack more than ever, it’s a shame that elected officials would want to put politics ahead of peoples’ lives,” said Tarina Keene, Executive director of REPRO Rising Virginia. “Abortion access is not a political issue for the majority of Virginians, it is basic healthcare. The Lynchburg City Council is playing a dangerous game by considering restrictions on future access to healthcare by so severely limiting abortion providers.”

The proposed zoning restrictions considered by the City Council are egregious and unnecessary, and reminiscent of the old Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws that the Virginia Board of Health voted to roll back, at least in part, in 2016. The General Assembly then passed the Reproductive Health Protection Act of 2020, which repealed the 2011 TRAP statute.

These proposed zoning changes have never had anything to do with the health or safety of pregnant people, but are meant to strip bodily autonomy and access to safe and accessible healthcare. Virginians have made it clear they want to move forward, not backward, on abortion access, and will have the chance to do so next year with a vote on the Constitutional Amendment for Reproductive Freedom. We stand firmly in support of the decision made by the Planning Commission and hope the City Council abides by it as well.

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REPRO Rising Virginia 501(c4) is a leading reproductive rights and freedom policy and political organization in the Commonwealth. The REPRO Rising Virginia PAC endorses and supports candidates committed to protecting and expanding the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, including legal and accessible abortion care for every Virginian without shame or stigma. With a statewide network of more than 50,000 members and activists, REPRO Rising Virginia mobilized reproductive freedom voters to elect a strong majority in the General Assembly in 2025.