VA Governor McDonnell passes health regulations for abortion clinics; abortion advocates outraged

Virginia governor Bob McDonnell has finally approved regulations that could force some abortion clinics to close, after two years of controversial debate. Despite the regulations having bipartisan support, pro-aborts were still up in arms over the passing, which merely forces clinics to address dangerous conditions which could potentially place women’s lives at risk.

After one the most contentious debates of the 2011 General Assembly session, legislators voted to regulate abortion clinics like outpatient surgical centers. It fell to the health board to implement the new rules, which call for costly physical renovations, such as widening hallways and doorways, that some clinic officials say could put them out of business.

… Now that McDonnell has signed off on the regulations, the state will solicit public comment for a 60-day period. After that, the board is likely to take the matter up for a final vote in March.

The standards that abortion clinics will be held to are seemingly commonsense:

The regulations include licensing and unannounced inspections of abortion centers. They also require standards regarding medical personnel like requiring that the doctor remain on premises until a woman is actually ready to be discharged, improved sanitary conditions, and emergency equipment for cardiac arrest, seizure, respiratory distress and other critical medical situations. Abortion centers would also have to be built, or improved within two years, to standards similar to ambulatory surgical facilities.

But abortion advocates are still furious.

“After two years of shocking backroom deals and bullying public health servants, Gov. Bob McDonnell is clearly proving his disregard of Virginians’ opinions about women’s health care,” NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Executive Director Tarina Keene said on Monday.

… “Despite testimony that showed the proposed regulations will likely drive up health care costs for patients and drive health providers out of practice, under pressure from the Attorney General’s office, the Board of Health chose to rubber stamp the draft regulations,” the Virginia Coalition to Protect Women’s Health said in a statement (PDF) at the time. “The sad fact is that the new regulations passed have no proven medical benefit to patients and, instead, will only serve to further limit patient access to abortion care as well as life saving cancer screenings, birth control, and the wide range of preventive care provided at women’s reproductive health centers.”

It’s abhorrent that these people, who claim to have women’s best interests at heart, would fight against regulations and standards that actually protect women and ensure that they are receiving the best possible medical care. Considering that many tattoo parlors have stricter regulations than abortion clinics, it should be a welcome development. Consider that Virginia abortion clinics were operating in abysmal conditions after Hurricane Sandy, with flooding, leaking water, and mold, or the number of botched abortions that occur at clinics like Planned Parenthood. There was Kermit Gosnell’s house of horrors in Pennsylvania, and Virginia’s clinics were found to be replete with their own horrific conditions as well. Women are injured and killed at abortion clinics, and many operate under less than sanitary standards.

This is why regulations like these are needed. If allowed to, abortionists will practice in sub-par conditions which wouldn’t be acceptable even in a veterinary clinic. Yet pro-aborts fight them in the name of protecting women. That is how extreme their devotion to the altar of abortion is. If a clinic is forced to close, it will be because that clinic refused to adhere to standards designed to keep women safe. But these abortion proponents would rather have women get abortions in filthy, disgusting, unsafe clinics. So who exactly is it that’s really fighting a war on women here?