By Dave Andrusko
After the dust settled following last Friday’s vote by the Virginia Board of Health, there are three considerations to keep in mind now (at least for now) that existing abortion clinics will be required to adhere to the new clinic regulations.
First, the battle is not over. Repeat, even though the Board voted 13-2 to reverse an earlier set of regulations grandfathering in existing clinics, pro-abortionists are still employing the same bullying tactics they have honed in the Commonwealth over the last year and a half. They know if Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Governor Bob McDonnell sign off on the regulations, they will be open to another public comment period before a final vote by the Board next year. That leaves them with plenty of time for mischief, which includes providing talking points for mindless editorials.
Second, there is an uncanny resemblance to the synthetic hysteria over a law that mandates the use of ultrasounds. The use of ultrasound was already standard operating procedure for early abortions in virtually all abortion clinics. Somehow requiring what already SOP became in the hands of the demagogues “rape by instrument.”
Third, the 2011 law mandated that abortion clinics be treated like outpatient surgical centers if they provide five or more first-trimester abortions a month. The regulations address such issues as building standards staff training, sanitation, and equipment standards. The pro-abortion hue and cry was that these requirements were so onerous, so burdensome, abortion clinics would be forced out of business.
But “All 20 of the state’s clinics have applied for licensing, and 12 have been granted licenses after submitting plans to correct deficiencies ranging from corridors or doorways being too narrow or having inadequate hand-wash and service sinks,” said State Health Commissioner Karen Remley said, according to the Washington Times. “None have indicated an intention to close.”
Abortion is big business in Virginia, as it is across the USA, and abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, will accommodate any rules placed upon them in order to stay in business, she noted.
“Therefore, the Pro-Life Movement must continue to work for laws that will directly protect the lives of unborn children,” Turner said. “Ultimately it is the passage of protective laws, like the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that will provide the best way to save lives.”
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