The Virginia Board of Health discussed Friday whether the emergency regulations passed last December by Gov. Bob McDonnell, requiring first-trimester abortion clinics to comply with the same building standards as hospitals, would become permanent.
Clinics which perform five or more first-trimester abortions are currently required to have a parking spot for every bed, hallways wide enough for two gurneys and additional oxygen tanks.
"These common-sense regulations will help ensure that this procedure takes place in facilities that are modern, safe and well-regulated, in order to help ensure the safety and well-being of all patients," according to a Dec. 29 statement by McDonnell spokesperson Taylor Thornley.
National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League Pro-Choice Virginia spokesperson Sean Holihan said the new regulations did not match the health risks associated with first-trimester abortion facilities.\n"Lasik surgery is more invasive than having a first-trimester abortion," Holihan said, and suggested the measure was passed in an effort to shut down abortion clinics "in the guise of protecting women's safety."
Tarina Keene, the chair of the pro-choice Virginia Coalition to Protect Women's Health, a group which formed last year in response to the bill, said in an email that abortion clinics would find it difficult to comply with the new regulations.
"The policies and protocols are an enormous task and many of the [women's] health centers have hired extra staff to just work on the regulation's requirements," Keene said. . "Many of the state's providers have been open for two or three decades providing safe, affordable, high quality care, but the extensive, overly burdensome building requirements are proving to be a daunting hurdle."
The financial burden the regulations impose threatens the ability of such clinics to provide care, Keene added.
Chris Freund, the vice president of policy and communications at the pro-life Family Foundation of Virginia, said in an email that the changes in regulations are financially feasible for women's health centers.
"Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion organization, is a $1 billion industry," Freund said. "It can more than afford a few upgrades to their centers."
Freund said the new regulations will help protect women. "Virginia's abortion centers have gone without inspections, unlicensed and unregulated for far too long," Freund said. "The emergency regulations are very reasonable, requiring regular inspections by health officials, licensing, and basic health standards."
The regulations, which took effect Jan. 1, will last one year. After this period, permanent regulations approved by the Virginia Board of Health will replace the temporary rules.
The hearing was the first in a series, which will last until Feb. 15, designed to determine whether these regulations will become permanent.
The next public hearing on the regulations is scheduled for Feb. 3 in Alexandria.
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