Kathy J. Byron (born September 5, 1953) is an

American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...

. She was elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

in 1997 as a Republican, representing the 22nd district in the

Virginia Piedmont The Piedmont region of Virginia is a part of the greater Piedmont physiographic region which stretches from the falls of the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region runs across the middle of the state fr ...

, consisting of parts of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

, Campbell and Franklin Counties and the city of Lynchburg. In September 2023, Byron resigned from the Virginia House after being appointed as Deputy Director for External Affairs at the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.

Virginia House of Delegates

In February 2012, Byron sponsored HB462, a bill that would require that Virginia women seeking an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

would have to undergo a

transvaginal ultrasound Vaginal ultrasonography is a medical ultrasonography that applies an ultrasound transducer (or "probe") in the vagina to visualize organs within the pelvic cavity. It is also called transvaginal ultrasonography because the ultrasound waves go ''a ...

, without her written consent and even if it is against the wishes of her doctor. After the controversy caused by passing of this bill by Virginia representatives, Governor

Bob McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American politician, attorney, businessman, academic administrator, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Republica ...

amended the bill to include language that would require the written consent of the woman seeking an abortion, and would also require only a transabdominal ultrasound. However, Byron urged rejection of the amendment on its grounds that a transvaginal ultrasound is an

invasive procedure Invasive procedure may refer to: * "Invasive Procedures" (''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), the fourth episode of the second season of the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' * ''Invasive Procedures'' (novel), a 2007 novel by Orson Sc ...

because, " we want to talk about invasiveness, there's nothing more invasive than the procedure that she is about to have," she said, referring to her belief that abortions harm viable persons within the womb. In January 2017, she proposed HB2108, a bill that would prevent municipalities from expanding beyond their current footprint and from building and offering broadband to those within the municipalities. Byron and her husband received a tax break designated for a person’s primary residence in Florida, she says her husband is a resident but she is not.

Electoral history

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, Kathy J. 1953 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Women state legislators in Virginia 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly