Virginia law protects your right to get and use birth control

Virginia law now says you have the right to get and use birth control, and that health care providers have the right to give it to you and tell you about it. That covers FDA-approved methods such as the pill, IUDs, implants, emergency contraception, condoms, shots, patches, and rings. State and local governments can’t pass or enforce rules that block or slow down your access. The only exceptions are rules that really make birth control safer, or rules that treat it the same as similar medicines.

You don’t have to apply for anything. If a law or policy gets in your way, you can sue to have it struck down. A health care provider can sue on behalf of its patients and staff, and the attorney general can sue on behalf of the state. The law also makes clear that it does not permit or approve sterilization without the patient’s voluntary, informed consent.

Del. Cia Price carried the House bill through three sessions, while then-Sen. Ghazala Hashmi carried the Senate versions in 2024 and 2025. Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy sponsored the 2026 Senate bill that became law. Lawmakers began the push after Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the Supreme Court should reconsider the right to contraception. Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the 2024 and 2025 versions. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the measure on April 8, 2026, and it took effect July 1.