Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Lashrecse Aird in Virginia’s 13th Senate District Primary
For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 1, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
Washington, DC — Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed Lashrecse Aird in the Democratic primary for Virginia’s 13th Senate District. Before running for this seat, Aird was the youngest woman ever elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, where she served from 2016-2021. Ensuring that a reproductive freedom champion is elected to this office is crucial for protecting abortion rights and access in Virginia. The state House is currently controlled by Republicans, and state Senate Democrats have been a vital backstop against anti-abortion bills. Virginia’s primary is on June 20.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“Lashrecse Aird has proven time and again that she will fight for Virginians’ freedoms and safeguard abortion rights and access. Meanwhile, Joe Morrisey’s opposition to reproductive freedom makes him unfit to serve. We know we can count on Lashrecse, and we’re proud to endorse her in this race.”
Lashrecse Aird, Candidate for Virginia’s 13th Senate District, released the following statement:
“During critical times such as these, there could be no greater partner than NARAL as I pursue the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s 13th Senate District. The voters in these communities deserve a Senator who will fight for education funding, safer communities, and their freedom to decide.
My campaign affects individuals all across our Commonwealth and millions of women across the greater Southeast United States. With their health on the line, losing is simply not an option. I look forward to campaigning over the next three weeks to ensure voters in the 13th Senate District have the opportunity to send a representative to the General Assembly they can be proud of.”
During her time as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Aird voted for numerous bills to protect and advance reproductive freedom, including the Reproductive Health Protection Act, efforts to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, and a bill to repeal the abortion coverage prohibition in Virginia health insurance plans offered on the state’s health exchange.
Democratic State Senator Joe Morrissey, the incumbent in this race, has voiced his hostility towards reproductive freedom and abortion. During his time in the General Assembly, Morrisey said he was open to voting with Republicans to advance legislation that would restrict abortion, and he has done exactly that by voting for a targeted restriction on abortion providers (TRAP) law. In 2020 he voted against the Reproductive Health Protection Act, cosponsored an abortion ban during the 2022 legislative session, and was the only Democratic state Senator not to support a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. NARAL is powered by its 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.