Position Statement: Women’s Healthcare, Constitutional Liberty, and the American Tradition of Personal Autonomy

My support for women’s healthcare—including the essential services provided by Planned Parenthood—comes from a simple constitutional principle: in America, personal medical decisions belong to individuals, not the government. This principle is older than any modern political debate. It is rooted in the Founders’ insistence that liberty requires limits on state power, and in the long line of constitutional precedents affirming privacy, bodily autonomy, and freedom from unwarranted government intrusion.

As a veteran, educator, and behavioral‑health leader, I have seen firsthand how deeply these rights matter. When government oversteps into private medical decisions, it violates the very constitutional values that define us: individual liberty, due process, and the right to be secure in one’s own body and home. These are not abstract ideas—they are the bedrock of a free society.

Planned Parenthood and similar providers play a critical role in upholding these freedoms by ensuring that women can access cancer screenings, contraception, STI testing, prenatal support, and evidence‑based reproductive care. In many rural communities, they are the only accessible provider. Restricting these services does not strengthen families or communities—it undermines public health, increases long‑term costs, and erodes the constitutional promise of equal protection under the law.

Historically, the Supreme Court has recognized that decisions about family, childbearing, and medical care fall within a zone of personal liberty protected by the Constitution. While the Court’s interpretations have shifted over time, the underlying principle remains: Americans have a long tradition of resisting government control over intimate, private decisions. West Virginia’s own constitutional framework reinforces this tradition by emphasizing local control, individual rights, and the protection of personal freedom from centralized overreach.

As a candidate for the House of Delegates, I will defend these principles. I will work to ensure that women in West Virginia have access to the full spectrum of healthcare services, free from political interference. Protecting women’s healthcare is not only a matter of public health—it is a matter of constitutional integrity and historical continuity. It honors the American belief that freedom is strongest when government stays in its proper lane and respects the dignity and autonomy of every individual.

I will stand firmly for policies that uphold these rights, strengthen community health, and ensure that every woman in West Virginia can make her own healthcare decisions with privacy, dignity, and constitutional protection.

Thanks for your time,

Rob Vincent

“Honest work. Real solutions. A Better West Virginia.”