Va. Health Board Axes Most-Contested Abortion Reg
June 15, 2012
The Virginia Board of Health has approved the state's new abortion clinic regulations after striking its most hotly contested provision.
"We were extremely surprised and extremely happy that the Virginia Board of Health decided to take politics out of women's health care," said Keiana Mayfield, Planned Parenthood Educator.
The board voted 7-4 Friday to strike a requirement that existing clinics meet the same strict building standards as new hospital construction. Only newly constructed clinics would be held to those standards.
Several opponents of the regulations leapt to their feet, cheered and hugged one another after the vote. Critics have argued the regulations could force the closure of most of the 20 clinics that have applied for a license.
The board ignored the advice of the attorney general's office, which said the 2011 law requiring the regulations mandates the tougher standards.
The board then voted 8-3 to approve the regulations.
The comments sections of Newsplex.com are designed for thoughtful, intelligent conversation and debate. We want to hear from our viewers, but we only ask that you use your best judgment. E-mail is required, but will not be displayed with comment.
- Comments cannot be profane or vulgar. We will not post comments that use profanity or cross the lines of good taste.
- We will not post comments that use hate speech. Slurs, stereotypes and violent talk aren’t welcome on our website.
- Comments should not attack other readers or people featured in our stories personally. Any accusations should be backed up with facts.
- Any comment we post will be posted in its entirety. We do not edit any comment that we post.
- Comments should contribute to the discussion. We will not post comments that don't advance the discussion. Flaming and/or trolling will not be tolerated.
- Comments should not attack other posters. Let's keep the focus on the content of the story.
As a host Newsplex.com welcomes a wide spectrum of opinions. However this is a site that we host. We have a responsibility to all our readers to try to keep our comment section fair and decent. For that reason The Newsplex reserves the right to not post or to remove any comment.
If you have any ideas to improve the conversation or this section let us know. Send an e-mail to webmaster@newsplex.com.
powered by Disqus
View All Sections
Gray Television, Inc. - Copyright © 2002-2013
Designed by Gray Digital Media