Virginia bishops say allowing unlimited abortion is ‘deplorable policy’ Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Va., and Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Va., are seen in this composite photo. (CNS composite; photos by Bob Roller and Ian West, courtesy Diocese of Richmond) By Catholic News Service • Posted March 16, 2021 RICHMOND, Va. (CNS) — By signing a measure that inserts abortion without limits into Virginia’s health benefits exchange, Gov. Ralph Northam “has crossed yet another tragic threshold,” said the heads of the state’s two Catholic dioceses. “We decry the enactment of this deplorable policy, which is built on the destructive lie that abortion is health care. We are saddened when we contemplate the increased number of unborn lives likely to be lost as a result,” Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout said in a joint statement March 12.