Shame on the Virginia Board of Health

It seemed as though the Virginia Board of Health was going to be one agency that refused to throw women under the bus. Three months ago the Board rejected onerous anti abortion regulations passed by the far right dominated Virginia Legislature. The regulations, among the many TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws passed in states all over the country, required massive, enormously expensive, and medically unjustified hospital construction standards clearly designed to put abortion providers out of business. The Board concluded that the new construction requirements did nothing to improve women’s health and would make it more difficult to keep services accessible.

            But anti abortion crusaders will stop at nothing to turn good women into criminals. Governor Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli strong-armed the Board. A new vote on September 14  was 13-2 in favor of the regulations and against women. Michelle Movahed of the Center for Reproductive Rights said, “Not a single other type of health care provider in Virginia has been subjected to this level of political bullying and government interference.

            These unwarranted requirements specifically target reproductive health care providers—many of which have been serving Virginia women and families for roughly 40 years—with regulations that have no medical purpose. It forces these health care providers to choose between incurring backbreaking costs or shutting their doors. Either way, it’s the women of Virginia who will suffer the consequences.”