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The amendment, introduced by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, which passed 21-19 on a party line vote, would protect the right to abortion as well as contraception and in vitro fertilization.

The state Senate on Tuesday also passed two other amendments. One, introduced by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, would , which voters backed in a 2006 referendum. Federal courts made the Virginia constitutional language moot by backing a right to same-sex marriage. The proposal would also replace the ban with an affirmative right to marry regardless of race, sex or gender.

The . Under Virginia’s constitution, felons who have completed their terms must petition the governor for restoration of rights. Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, introduced that proposed amendment.

The House .

To amend the state constitution, which trumps state law, the amendments would have to pass in the General Assembly two years in a row with a House of Delegates election in between. (The House is up for reelection this fall.)

If the House and Senate pass these amendments again next year, the measures would then go to voters in a statewide referendum in fall 2026.

Abortion amendment

The abortion amendment, which was hotly debated, would guarantee every person “the fundamental right to reproductive freedom.”

It would reduce the number of doctors required to sign off on a third-trimester abortion from three to one. In health care deserts, there often are not three doctors available, said legislators in favor of the amendment.

Sen. Emily Jordan, R-Isle of Wight, proposed an amendment to the measure on Monday that sought to ensure medical care to babies born alive after an abortion.

already says that anyone who knowingly kills a baby that is born alive is guilty of a Class 4 felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

“This is not how abortion works,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. “This is fear mongering and trying to divert from the fact that the majority of Virginians want us to pass a reproductive health care act in our constitution to protect their freedom and ability to make the most personal and private decisions for themselves.”

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said the state constitution already has 28,000 words and not everything that is a law needs to be in the constitution.

Jordan’s proposed amendment to the constitutional amendment ultimately failed on a party line vote. Another proposed amendment to require parental notification if a child receives an abortion also failed.

Current state law requires anyone under 18 years old to get permission for an abortion from one parent, grandparent or adult sibling with whom the person lives. But the constitution trumps state law, so many Republicans noted the possibility that the constitutional amendment — which would guarantee abortion access to every person — would invalidate the state’s parental consent law.

Boysko said that the constitutional amendment will protect reproductive rights for years to come and “cannot be stripped at the whim of politicians.”

The proposed amendment that would automatically restore voting rights for individuals who were incarcerated for a felony conviction passed on a 21-18 vote.

The proposed amendment that would remove the defunct same-sex marriage ban in the state constitution passed the Senate on a 24-15 vote.