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Health Subcommittee

Tuesday, January 20, 2026·1h 11m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Virginia Health Subcommittee advanced eight bills ranging from celiac disease restaurant training and organ retention notification to adult adoptee birth certificate access and contraception rights, with only HB 6 drawing organized opposition and passing narrowly at 5 to 3, while six other bills passed unanimously and one passed 7 to 2.

Key Actions

·HB 380 – Celiac Disease Restaurant TrainingPassed

+ 4 more actions

Controversies

Whether HB 6 eliminates prescription requirements for contraception

Delegate Waxman argued that a prescription process is itself a way of restricting access and that HB 6 as written — by removing all restrictions — could negate prescription safety requirements, including black box warnings on high-dose oral contraceptives for patients with cardiovascular conditions or blood clot history, stating 'A prescription process is a way of restricting access. It has to have a prescription from a prescriber. When we say we remove all restrictions, that means that there is no prescription required for this process.' Delegate Price responded that is not how she or the attorneys she worked with read the bill.

+ 3 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“We were stunned. We had thought we had buried all of Clara. Ultimately, the pathologist at UCLA confirmed that her heart was structurally normal, and they, too, could find no cause that would have explained her sudden passing. We were simultaneously grateful for this additional examination, but also shocked and troubled that no one had told us that her heart had been removed.”

Kathryn Speckart — Kathryn Speckart testified in favor of HB 381, which would require the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to notify families when a whole organ is retained during autopsy. Her daughter Clara passed away in December 2023, and the family learned in March 2024 that Clara's heart had been sent to UCLA without their knowledge.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Motion to report HB 380Passed
Motion to adopt substitute amendment for HB 381No Vote
Motion to report HB 381 with substitutePassed
Motion to incorporate HB 664 into HB 301No Vote
Motion to adopt amendment for HB 301No Vote
Motion to report HB 301 with substitutePassed
Motion to report HB 335 and refer to AppropriationsPassed
Motion to report HB 373Passed
Motion to report HB 376 and refer to AppropriationsPassed
Motion to report HB 6Passed
Motion to adopt amendments for HB 222No Vote
Motion to report HB 222 with amendmentsPassed
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TranscriptPreview
Good morning, everyone. I'd ask people that could take your conversations outside the subcommittee. Committee on health is now in session. Please, members, take your seats. We call up the first bill from delegate Bennett Parker. House Bill 380. Oh, I'm sorry. Let me go ahead and take attendance first. I'm a little rusty here. Everyone, please record your presence on the electronic voting board. All members have voted. All right, we do have a quorum now. Thank you, Jane, for keeping me straight. House Bill 380, Delegate Parker. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is House Bill 380, and this bill was brought to me by a constituent whose son has celiac disease, and they are here with us today. The bill would include celiac disease awareness and safety in the topics of written training materials the state health commissioner must provide to restaurants. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder where consuming gluten triggers the immune system to attack the small intestine, damaging the nutrient absorbing villi and leading to malnutrition, digestive issues like diarrhea and vomiting, fatigue, and other systemic health problems. Recently at a restaurant, my constituent informed the server that her son had celiac disease and cannot…
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