More than 150 pastors signed an open letter urging Virginians to vote “no” on proposed amendments that would enshrine abortion and same-sex marriage into the state constitution.
Between early voting and election day — September 18 to November 3 — Virginians are voting on Question 1 and Question 2, which the coalition of pastors says “are opposed to human flourishing and contrary to the Word of God.” Question 1 would enshrine abortion throughout pregnancy into the state constitution, and Question 2 would strike the state constitution’s 2006 definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman and replace it with language allowing any two adults to marry.
“As citizens of Virginia, we are under moral obligation to vote for the good of our Commonwealth. Truly, this is what commonwealth means, for we are bound together here for one another’s common good,” the letter reads. “Let us seek one another’s true good and not mark our identity with the deprivations that these amendments would bring to the Constitution of Virginia.”
The pastors said voters should first reject the abortion amendment because “it will bring about more destruction of human life in the womb.” Abortion is already legal in Virginia up to 26 weeks and six days of pregnancy. The amendment would make abortion a “fundamental right” and allow women to:
[M]ake personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive.
“All human life is sacred and created by God in His image. We see this in the beginning in Genesis 1:27, ‘God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’ Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death,” the pastors wrote. “We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. Our children’s fundamental right to live should be protected, and all children, born and pre-born should be loved and cherished.”
“Abortion is the killing of a pre-born child in the womb. It is moral distortion to present this violation of the sixth commandment as a moral good or as a fundamental right, and it is deceptive framing to present abortion’s destruction of life as healthcare,” the letter continues. “Mothers should not destroy the life in their wombs, and medical professionals should care for every human life, especially the lives of the most vulnerable. Human life must not be defined, devalued, or destroyed because of size, level of development, environment, or degree of dependency.”
The pastors also pleaded with mothers considering abortion to let their babies live and said unborn babies have a “fundamental right…to be born, to live, and to breathe.”
“There is never a parental right to take the life of a child. No society should deny this fundamental right to its most vulnerable members. We must not dehumanize an entire class of the most vulnerable persons and enshrine a ‘right’ to destroy innocent life in the Virginia Constitution. It is essential that we vote no and reject Amendment 1,” the wrote.
As for the same-sex marriage amendment, the pastors said God alone determines the sex of each person and marriage has only one definition: “the uniting of one man and one woman into a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture.” Question 2 would:
[R]emove the ban on same-sex marriage; affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law.
“God created the institution of marriage in Eden, and he is the one who joins husband and wife together. Marriage is created to point us to Christ and the church,” the pastors’ letter reads. “When Jesus taught on God’s design for marriage, he declared, ‘What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate’ (Matthew 19:6). It is likewise true to say what God has defined, let not man seek to redefine.”
“We live in a world created by God. The institution of marriage is part of the bedrock of human civilization. It is presumptuous to imagine it can be redefined, and it is modern arrogance to believe this generation knows better than all past generations,” they continued. “Similarly, every human is immutably male or female, and this self-evident truth is likewise embedded in our DNA.”
The pastors noted that “[d]enying reality only brings a ripple effect of harm to society that is acutely felt by individuals, families, schools, and sports teams.”
“Ontology is not rooted in self, but in an objective reality that is immutably created by God. It is self-deceptive to imagine that one can redefine the institution of marriage or remake oneself in regard to gender,” the letter reads. “Let us not discard these fundamental truths of creation. Instead, we urge all Virginia voters to vote no and reject Amendment 2.”
Pastors said they disagree with many Virginians for their good and the good of Virginia, because “the truth about life in the womb and the truth about marriage and gender does not originate within us, but it comes to us from God.”
“Love will communicate truth and speak for the good of others, and it does not go silent when the need is great. We are to love with truth, for love without truth is not love at all. Truth exists outside of the individual, and we can only love one another when we serve the truth,” they said, adding that they do not condone any “hateful or harassing behavior” toward people with differing views than them.
“We write this letter for your good and with love for the Commonwealth of Virginia. And as we say this, we recognize that none of us are truly good, and this calls for humility. We are all guilty of sin, and we have no hope in our own merit, but only in the grace of God as seen in Christ’s cross and resurrection,” they wrote. “There is redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Christ’s death for our sins and his resurrection from the grave is the hope of the world. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16).”
“We invite you to seek to know the Lord, to turn from your sin, and to set your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. If you don’t have a Bible, we encourage you to pick one up and read the Gospel of John. If you don’t go to church, we invite to you begin, and to visit one of the churches listed below on a Sunday morning as we gather to worship our Lord,” the letter concludes. “Let us pray for and seek the good of Virginia together, and let us vote no on Amendments 1 and 2. May God give grace to the Commonwealth.”
One of the pastors who helped coordinate the letter told the Daily Signal that at least 90 churches are represented in the letter, reaching more than 50,000 parishioners across the state.
“The pastors’ letter follows a high-profile ‘Catholics Vote No’ campaign by Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington,” according to the report. “He had priests in 70 parishes across Northern Virginia read a letter at Mass opposing the amendments. That effort built on a joint statement he issued in August with Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
