Final Candidate Question: Kaine, Cao, Anderson, and Vindman Share Views on Reproductive Healthcare Laws

Kaine responded:

As a result of draconian abortion bans put into place following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, women like Amber Thurman have died because they haven’t been able to get the care they need. Virginia is the last state in the South without an extreme abortion ban, and I won’t stop fighting against efforts to implement a national abortion ban so women can make their own health care decisions without interference from out-of-touch politicians. After the Supreme Court’s disastrous Dobbs decision, I introduced the bipartisan Reproductive Freedom for All Act, which would enact the core holdings of Supreme Court cases, including Roe v. Wade, which established and affirmed the rights to abortion and contraception. My bill is the only bipartisan proposal currently before Congress that would codify Roe v. Wade as a national protection of reproductive freedom.

Cao responded:

As a United States Senator, I will vote against any national abortion ban. I believe this issue was correctly sent back to the states which is a contrast from my opponent who wants to federalize this and take it out of the hands of voters in Virginia and put it in the hands of a Senator in California and a Congressman in Idaho. He wants to do this in order to push the most extreme agenda of unlimited abortion up to the moment of birth. This is why he voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.

My family benefitted from fertility treatments so I would support making insurance companies pay for IVF and other fertility procedures. One of our five children was adopted so I would like to streamline the adoption process to help American families grow.

Anderson responded:

Unfortunately, this is something my opponent has been lying to voters about for weeks. I look at this issue as one we should approach with compassion and common sense rather than division and lies. To be very clear, I will not and do not support a national abortion ban. I’m a strong supporter of IVF and of over the counter contraceptive access. The Dobbs decision put this discussion back in the hands of the states and Virginia has spoken on this. I do not want to federalize this issue.

Vindman responded:

In 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned over 50 years of precedent in the dangerous Dobbs decision, they took away a Constitutional right held by women for generations. I don’t want my 14-year-old daughter to grow up in a world in which she has fewer rights than her mother or grandmother before her. That is unconscionable. My position on this is simple: an issue as personal as access to abortion care should be a decision made between a woman and her doctor, a politician shouldn’t be in the room. In office, I will codify Roe to make it the law of the land. My opponent unfortunately has dodged this question.

Derrick Anderson wants to let politicians dictate to women if they are allowed to access critical reproductive care. He has committed to being a “pro-life” member of Congress if elected. He actively campaigned for a candidate who disgustingly claimed that women can’t get pregnant from being raped, and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to receive an abortion if they requested one. And he is bankrolled by MAGA extremists who have called for a national abortion ban without exceptions like in Project 2025. Simply put: Derrick is a danger to women, and cannot be trusted to protect our families in Congress.

Derrick has claimed that “this should be an issue left to the states.” Let me be clear: this means that Derrick supports state legislatures and governors being able to ban abortion without exception. Including for victims of rape or incest and even when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. This is not a hypothetical future, it’s a reality women face every day. After the Dobbs decision, a 10-year-old rape victim was forced to flee her state because Ohio had banned abortion. Amber Thurman, a young mother in Georgia who had to travel hundreds of miles to receive an abortion, died from sepsis because she was denied the care she desperately needed. Right now, because of state politicians, victims are being denied care, and women are dying. So when Derrick says “leave it up to the states” don’t let his canned line distract you from the reality of what that really means.

It’s obvious that Derrick knows that his extreme position is unpopular, and that’s why he has done everything he can to dodge and distract from his true beliefs. At a recent candidate forum, Derrick was asked simply “do you support a woman’s right to choose, yes or no?” he repeatedly refused to answer. Derrick even went so far as to stage a photo-op with a “fake wife and daughters” in an attempt to soften his image as a bachelor who believes that women should be denied the ability to make their own healthcare decisions. It’s clear that he will do whatever it takes to hide his true position from voters because he’s too extreme for Virginia.

In this election, the voters of this district will decide the future of abortion rights and women’s healthcare access in Virginia and across the country. As a member of Congress, I will always vote to empower women to make their own choices. It is clear that Derrick won’t.