Virginia voters will soon vote on a proposed amendment that would enshrine an absolute right to abortion into the state constitution. Similar amendments have passed in several other states, including Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Arizona, Colorado, California, and Maryland.

These amendments — many passed in states that already lack protections for the unborn — boast intentionally vague language to avoid any potential for abortion restrictions. For example, many have come under fire for not even specifying that the “right” to abortion extends only to adults — meaning that under the language of the law, unaccompanied minors technically have a right to an abortion at any time and for any reason.

These amendments are quickly proving that the culture of life is far from won after the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Nationwide, extremists hope to use these amendments to advance abortion in states that already lack any meaningful protections for the unborn. Unfortunately, it’s working — even though polling shows that Americans increasingly support commonsense restrictions on abortion, such as after 15 weeks when a baby can feel pain, and after the second trimester.

This polling has failed to translate into meaningful votes, however. These state constitutional amendments are proving that when voters face a binary choice of no abortion or all abortion, they will always choose all abortion. With this in mind, Virginia pro-life advocates have reason to fear that the constitutional amendment will pass with resounding success, leaving unborn children vulnerable to gruesome later abortions and underage girls vulnerable to the horrors of abortions that they should not be legally allowed to consent to.

Thankfully, pro-life advocates are not giving in to despair. Many are rallying ahead of the Nov. 3 election to warn Virginians about what the amendment would allow. Some, like Catholic Bishop Barry Knestout, are using their platforms and authority to condemn the amendment and remind Catholics especially that voting for abortion constitutes a grave sin.

“The [amendment] is worded vaguely in order to disguise its true meaning,” Bishop Knestout warned. “It purports to help women, but in reality, it does the opposite — it harms them. It threatens to eliminate the health regulations that protect women in our communities and puts vulnerable women at risk of being coerced into having abortions.”

Virginia voters must now decide whether they will heed Bishop Knestout’s warning, and the disturbing precedent nearly a dozen other states have set, or whether the commonwealth will become the next haven for abortion extremism this November.