State regulations could spell trouble for abortion clinics

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli recently released an opinion stating that the state has the authority to further regulate abortion clinics, meaning many could face closure.

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Manassas, asked Cuccinelli for the opinion, which stated among other things that doctors use proper care in diagnosing the age of a fetus, follow requirements for the use of general anesthesia in non-hospital settings, have hospital admission privileges and conduct themselves professionally.

Marshall said the idea that the state can’t regulate abortion clinics is erroneous.

“Virginia used to regulate abortion clinics,”he said.

The misunderstanding of the state’s rights began long ago, after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.

Marshall said the misunderstanding that the state was restricted in regulating clinics came from a simple statement by an assistant attorney general in the mid-1980s, during Gov. Gerald L. Baliles administration.

“They claimed that Virginia didn’t have the right to do this. They didn’t cite any authority. There’s no written opinion on this. There’s only a statement referenced in a hearing from an assistant attorney general that ‘we can’t do this anymore,’” Marshall said. “That’s kind of shaky to me.”

Marshall said that Cuccinelli’s opinion was backed up by the 2000 Greenville Women’s Clinic v. Bryant, a 4th Circuit Appeals Court decision in South Carolina that upheld a state’s right to regulate abortion clinics.

Virginia is in the 4th Circuit and can be held to the same standard, Marshall said.

“There is no valid challenge to regulations that would imitate or reflect the Greenville Women’s decision,” he said.

If further regulations, that include certain architectural requirements, go into effect, 17 of the state’s 21 clinics could be forced out of business, Marshall said.

“These architectural requirements are for patients’ sake to get somebody out of the clinic in time to get them to a hospital,” Marshall said.

Marshall, who wrote Gov. Bob McDonnell asking him to implement further regulations said enforcing the new regulations wouldn’t require any action by the General Assembly.

The health department simply has to issue the regulations, give the public 30 days to comment, take comments into account then put the regulations in place, Marshall said.

Vicki Saporta of the National Abortion Federation said Marshall is seeking a way to shut down abortion clinics that circumvents the legislature.

“The General Assembly has rejected further restricting abortions for the past several years,” Saporta said. “The majority of Virginians don’t want to see women have a more difficult time accessing abortion care and there is no need to further regulate what is already a very, very safe medical procedure.”

Saporta went on to say that Marshall has not been able to “further restrict abortion through legitimate means in the legislature for many years” and that he simply reached out to Cuccinelli for validation.

And Cuccinelli told Marshall “what he wanted to hear,” Saporta said.

Marshall said if the clinics aren’t safe, they should be closed.

“If these abortionists do not put women’s health first, they ought to be shut down,” Marshall said.

Senior reporter Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.