NORFOLK, Va. — Tuesday night, the commonwealth’s attorneys in two Hampton Roads cities doubled down on their pledge not to prosecute abortion cases.
While abortion is still legal in Virginia, rights could be rolled back during the upcoming legislative session.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has proposed banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi and Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales signed a pledge shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned, saying they won't prosecute anyone who seeks or provides abortions that would have been legal under Roe.
Morales and Fatehi, along with 82 other progressive prosecutors across the country, signed that pledge.
"We are going to protect the rights of those seeking abortions," said Morales.
Tuesday night, they joined the Criminal Justice Initiative with the Working Families Party to explain their power as CAs as abortion is increasingly criminalized across the country.
"I am one who is going to utilize my prosecutorial discretion in order to protect the rights of my community," said Morales.
Fatehi echoed that sentiment. A district attorney or CA has the power to investigate and decide whether to charge and prosecute a crime.
In terms of Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers or "TRAP" laws, Fatehi said they are limited in what they can do.
"Violating them isn’t a criminal offense, it’s a regulatory offense that falls outside of, at least Virginia prosecutors', purview," he said.
If a federal abortion ban is implemented, Morales said they’ll still have some power.
"There may be concurrent jurisdiction, that’s something to consider. Where even if there is a federal ban, we as state prosecutors will still have jurisdiction and it doesn’t necessarily mean we succumb to the wants of the federal government."
The legal experts our national VERIFY team spoke to shortly after Roe was overturned confirmed state and local prosecutors have huge discretion in whether or not to enforce state law.
As for whether state politicians could go around local prosecutors, those same experts say it would all be up to the courts.
So what can the state do if a local prosecutor ignores their laws?
The VERIFY team says it depends on the state and county.
Those same legal experts say there are ways to get someone else to prosecute, including the attorney general or a special prosecutor. Although that may require changing the state constitution or state law first.
To watch the entire conversation with the Working Families Party, click here.