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Health Subcommittee

Tuesday, February 3, 2026·1h 16m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Health Subcommittee advanced seven bills — including measures on psilocybin scheduling, maternal health, palliative care, service dog access, cooperative agreement oversight, death certificate amendments, and foreign organ harvesting restrictions — while killing a born-alive infant care bill and a foreign genetic sequencer prohibition on party-line motions to pass by indefinitely.

Key Actions

·HB 531 – Born Alive Infant Treatment and CarePassed

+ 7 more actions

Controversies

HB 531 – Whether born-alive infant protection legislation is necessary or fabricates a nonexistent problem

Delegate Hamilton argued the bill addresses a real patient — 'an entirely new patient that has been delivered and survived and deserves care' — supported by Robin Sertel's testimony as a survivor of three failed abortion attempts and Melissa Oden's citation of Quebec data showing an 11% failure rate in nearly 14,000 second-trimester abortions. Tarina Keen (Repro Rising Virginia) countered the bill 'is based on the false premise that abortion occurs after birth. They absolutely do not' and said existing law already requires appropriate care, while Jamie Lockhart (Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia) stated 'anti abortion politicians have fabricated a problem that doesn't exist.' Nicole Lauder, on behalf of ACOG Virginia, warned the bill could criminalize a physician who follows the standard of care by not resuscitating a fetus with no chance of viability.

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“I picked up their body parts off the battlefield. I spoke at their memorial services. I met with their families and looked into the eyes of their sons and Daughters trying to find the words to explain why I didn't bring their daddy home after each deployment. I was not the same. I finally sought mental health in 2015 while still on active duty and diagnosed with PTSD. I managed”

Nicole Lauder, Williams Mellon, on behalf of Compass Pathways, reading testimony from retired Colonel Ryan Schlosser — Lauder read this written testimony from retired Colonel Ryan Schlosser in support of HB 1347, which would align Virginia's scheduling of FDA-approved psilocybin with DEA decisions, to provide access to psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD.

+ 2 more quotes

Votes

Report HB 1347Passed
Pass by indefinitely HB 685Passed
Pass by indefinitely HB 531Passed
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TranscriptPreview
Seven got a motion. This is a voice vote. Second properly. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. All right. That bill is carried over. Thank you, Chair Price. Is Delegate Williams in the House? Don't see him there. We're gonna go then to my bill, House Bill 300. And I will go ahead and just read it from here just in a month for efficiency's sake. And so I'll hand it over to Chair Price to Delegate Hope. Thank you, Madam Chair. Members of the subcommittee, House Bill 300, I do have a substitute and I'd ask. Report the substitute. Mr. Brooks. Report the substitute. Mr. Chair, the substitute for HB300 replaces the attorney General with the Commissioner of Health for oversight of managed care pricing restrictions in place upon the expiration of a cooperative group cooperative agreement. Under the bill, substitute also extends the expiration date of conditions in a cooperative agreement to June 30, 2028, as adds a provision requiring the commissioner and hospital system that entered into a cooperative agreement to enter into an additional agreement outlining the obligations of the hospital system with regards to the applicable managed care pricing restrictions. And the substitute also…
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