Virginia's Democratic-led Senate on Tuesday passed constitutional amendments on abortion and voting rights that were quickly lambasted by Republicans who could use the issues as the party tries to regain ground in November's statewide elections.

The votes followed an emotional floor debate on abortion — and an unusual parliamentary tussle over whether the Democratic leader had violated the chamber’s decorum,

The Democratic-led Virginia Senate has voted to enshrine the right to an abortion and to vote in the state's constitution.

The Virginia Senate voted Tuesday to advance a trio of constitutional amendments to guarantee Virginians' right to abortion care, automatically restore voting rights to disenfranchised felons and remove an antiquated law banning same-sex marriage .