Can the TRAP laws be recinded?

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — The Virginia Board of Health decided Thursday to move forward with a review of rules for abortion clinics, the latest step in a lengthy process that could roll back controversial regulations finalized last year.

The move was a victory for Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who campaigned on a promise to reverse the rules, which regulate abortion clinics as if they were hospitals by dictating such details as hallway widths and the number of parking spots. Opponents of the regulations say they were intended to block access to abortion by closing down clinics that do not meet the requirements.

“These clinics provide essential preventive care and cancer screenings to many women and families and unfortunately were facing closure due to onerous regulations that were the result of politics being inserted into the regulatory process,” McAuliffe said in a statement.

However, groups opposed to abortion did not necessarily see Thursday’s action as a defeat; they said the review approved by the health board leaves open the possibility that restrictions on clinics could be strengthened. The restrictions, they said, are meant to protect women’s health and safety.

“We don’t know what will happen at the end of this process. This is simply a reopening and reviewing of the standards,” Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, told reporters after the meeting.

The biggest bullshit in the world is out of Victoria Cobb’s mouth.  TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) are for one reason and one reason alone–to stop abortion.  That’s the only reason.  Wide hallways and designer parking lots are just BS and help no one.  Let’s face it, people having medical procedures not related to abortion can run into emergency problems.  Can someone please explain to me why these laws aren’t in place for all medical facilities that provide out-patient services?  They can’t.  The requirements are bogus and help no one.

Good for Governor McAuliffe for prioritizing getting rid of these ridiculous laws.

FCHC sues the State of Virginia: May the force be with them!

MoonHowler

A challenge to Virginia’s strident anti abortion regulations moved forward today.
Rosemary Codding is the director of Falls Church Healthcare Center. In the above video, Rosemary is shown accepting an award from NARAL for her continuing efforts in the field of reproductive rights. That night she announced that FCHC filed a petition in circuit court in Arlington to set aside the onerous TRAP laws that will close most clinics in Virginia. Today, an Arlington County circuit court judge ruled that FCHC could move forward with its suit challenging the new TRAP laws.

Washingtonpost.com:

The Falls Church Medical Center is seeking to overturn an April decision by the Virginia Board of Health that applies strict, hospital-style building codes to the clinics. Among other things, the rules mandate the width of hallways and doorways as well as the number of parking spaces. Some providers have said costly renovations needed to comply would put them out of business.

Attorneys for the medical center argued in court that abortion clinics have been treated differently than other outpatient medical facilities. Solicitor General Earle Duncan Getchell Jr. defended the regulations, saying that the Board of Health simply followed the General Assembly’s directive and the law.

Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Kendrick denied a request by the state to dismiss the case. He predicted that the contentious lawsuit will eventually go to the state appeals court.

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Virginia TRAP laws whittle away at abortion rights

MoonHowler
Cuccinelli and McDonnell continue their war on women's reproductive rights
Cuccinelli and McDonnell continue their war on women’s reproductive rights

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — The Virginia Board of Health voted Friday to require clinics that perform abortions to meet strict, hospital-style building codes that operators say could put many of them out of business.

The 11 to 2 vote represented the board’s final say on the matter, which has taken unexpected twists and turns since the General Assembly voted in 2011 to regulate abortion clinics like outpatient surgical centers. The regulations went straight to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R), who quickly certified them. They now go to two state agencies and Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), who is expected to sign off on them.

Make no mistake, these TRAP laws do not make abortion safer nor do they protect women.  TRAP laws simply make it more difficult and expensive to provide safe, legal abortion.  Anyone who thinks differently has been misled by political opponents who want to end legal abortion.

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Ken Cuccinelli, the Quintessenial Bully of Women

Elena

I am unsure how the women in Virginia will now have access to legal and safe abortion. The reversal of  a previous ruling by the Virginia Board of Health, due to the bullying tactics our Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli,  puts all LEGAL abortion clinics in an untenable position to operate.  Naral Virginia explains the consequences of the Boards actions.

On Friday, September 14, the Virginia Board of Health defied the recommendations  of legal and medical experts in voting 13-2 to subject existing women’s health  centers to burdensome buildings regulations. After months of pressure tactics by  Attorney General Cuccinelli, the Board reversed its earlier decision to  grandfather in existing clinics and exempt them from the medically unnecessary  regulations. If signed into law, these regulations will force up to twenty  women’s health centers in Virginia to shut down.

“We are stunned by today’s vote, and extremely disappointed in the thirteen  Board of Health members who decided to put political ideology before  evidence-based scientific fact,” said Tarina Keene, Executive Director of NARAL  Pro-Choice Virginia. “Hundreds of voices were silenced today.”