Two Democratic members of the House of Delegates are seeking to rally Christians, Jews, Muslims and other people of faith who support abortion.

The purpose: To bring them together to challenge efforts by others seeking to use faith to restrict or ban abortions that are now legal in Virginia.

The organizers of the fledgling Virginia Interfaith Reproductive Liberty Coalition are Richmond Delegate Delores L. McQuinn, a Baptist minister, and Fairfax Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, the former House speaker and lone Jewish member of the General Assembly.

The women legislators want to stop faith-based support of abortion from being kicked to the curb by those who claim that the only way to be religious is to oppose a woman’s right to choose.

“What about our religious rights?” said Delegate Filler-Corn, who is deeply concerned about the attempt “to impose the narrow views of one religious group over all others when it comes to reproductive healthcare.”

The two legislators launched the nascent effort to use religion to fight back against the anti-abortion crusade last Friday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located across 9th Street from the State Capitol.

Delegates McQuinn and Filler-Corn were joined by four other Christian ministers and a Muslim activist in a bid to build a counterweight to evangelicals Christians and Catholics for whom ending abortion is an article of faith.

“Now more than ever, we must come together as people of faith from every walk of life to speak in support of reproductive health rights for Virginians,” Delegate McQuinn said. “We refuse to sit silently as attempts are being made to relegate women to the status of second-class citizens once again.

“We women,” she added, “are capable of making decisions for our own reproductive health care in the best interests of our families.”

Whether the organization attracts more supporters remains a question mark.

At this point, the coalition appears to be mostly in name only, lacking any significant links to congregations or denominations that support abortion rights, of which there are many.

The two delegates launched the group a few months before the next General Assembly session when fresh attempts to restrict now legal abortion in Virginia are expected, with support from Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin.

But the real test of their organizing skill will come next year when there will be new elections for the 100 members of the House and the 40 members of the state Senate. Currently, Democrats hold a slight majority in the Senate and can still block anti-abortion laws. The loss of one or two seats in 2023 could give abortion foes the upper hand in both chambers.

State legislatures now have the final say on abortion rights as the result of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the Roe v. Wade decision of 1972, which allowed abortions up to 24 weeks throughout the country.

Others who took part in launching the group include Dr. MarQuita Carmichael, assistant university pastor at Virginia Union University; Dr. Janet K. Copeland, minister of music at St. John’s Baptist Church; Dr. Lacette Cross, pastor of Restoration Fellowship RVA; Dr. April M. Eikerenkoetter, associate minister at St. Paul’s Baptist Church; and Shabina Shahnawaz, a Muslim educator and activist.