The secular liberal media has often portrayed Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) as a moderate Democrat, but that's not at all what she actually is. Pro-lifers were saddened that Virginia voters approved the Abby-endorsed Question 1, which created a Roe vs. Wade-style abortion-on-demand policy in the state. It won by 25 points.
Naturally, the so-called "independent fact-checkers" pulled out the "False" card when anyone insists that this means "abortion up until birth" because they claim that leaving it up to a woman and her carefully selected doctor is somehow a third-term "restriction."
At Snopes.com, Jack Izzo was the latest pro-abortion enabler, under the headline "Did Virginia legalize abortion up to birth? Claim misrepresents Question 1."
Collin Rugg's tweet was the flagged offender of so-called Falsehood, since he dared to argue it allowed "the abortion of babies who are minutes from being born." It's "False" even though Rugg underlines that third-trimester abortion is available if a "single doctor" determines the unborn baby is a "mental health" problem.
NEW: Virginia voters vote to allow the abortion of babies who are minutes from being born, as long as a single doctor deems the mother's "mental health" needs saving. The constitutional amendment will establish permanent protections for abortions. Women will be able to kill a fully formed baby in the womb in the third trimester as long as a single doctor determines it is necessary to save the life or physical or "mental health" of the mother, according to CBS. A Pew Research study found that over 50% of liberal white women under 30 have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Horrific.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 4, 2026
Snopes linked to Ballotpedia, which laid out a very broad right to abortion:
Question 1 amended the Virginia Constitution to establish the right to reproductive freedom. Question 1 defined this as "the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one's own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care."[1]
Question 1 provided that this right could not be infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest.[1]
Question 1 allowed the state to regulate abortion for women in the third trimester of pregnancy, but prohibited the state from prohibiting abortions if the fetus/baby was not viable or a physician determined an abortion was necessary to protect the life, mental health, or physical health of the mother.
As the abortion-backing "fact checkers" typically do, this is "False" because third-trimester abortions are rare. This makes as much sense as claiming that if you made it legal to have sex with a horse, you haven't actually made it legal because it rarely happens. But they claim pro-lifers are making a "strawman argument."
The strawman argument
The misleading posts do not mention how far into their pregnancies women generally receive abortions. That's because the language of the claim relies on the idea that late-term abortions are a common practice, while the medical data shows they are quite uncommon.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the premier professional association for OB/GYNs in the U.S., less than 1% of abortions in the country are performed in the third trimester, and about 1% of abortions are performed after the woman has reached 21 weeks of pregnancy.
ACOG, obviously, is pro-abortion, and Snopes also cited as their experts "reproductive healthcare nonprofit Planned Parenthood" and their affiliated Alan Guttmacher Institute.
Izzo, who's touted at the bottom of the post as a "two-time Jeopardy alumnus," tried to claim that killing an unborn baby is a "do no harm" matter:
To put it another way, doctors, who take an oath to do no harm, perform late-term abortions because the baby is "life-limiting," the mother may not survive the pregnancy or the mother couldn't have the procedure earlier, even if she wanted to.
Oh, there's absolutely some "life-limiting" going on in an abortion, and it's not about the mother.
