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The General Assembly has repeatedly considered and rejected bills that would have placed abortion clinics under regulations similar to those imposed on full-service hospitals and surgery centers. Ken Cuccinelli and Bob Marshall know this because they have both sponsored such bills and watched them die.
Now, though, in the latest episode of an ongoing show of political opportunism, Cuccinelli - currently the attorney general - and Del. Marshall have decided that if they can't get what they want through the legislature, they'll try to get it by fiat.
This week, Cuccinelli's office opined, in response to a question from Marshall, that abortion clinics can be constrained by the same rules as surgical centers. Since banning abortions would be legally problematic, the goal instead is to make them less accessible and more expensive.
Cuccinelli's opinion, though, is just that. It is nonbinding. Even so, his tactics reveal a disregard for the very government institutions that are his clients. His opinion shrugs off the legislative branch as obsolete and irrelevant. In Cuccinelli's world, the will of elected lawmakers can be skirted by 15 appointees on the Board of Health.
While Gov. Bob McDonnell is sympathetic to the cause Cuccinelli and Marshall espouse, the Republican executive has a greater duty to the rule of law. Cuccinelli's opinion and a subsequent letter from Marshall demanding that the governor take action are a naked attempt to manipulate McDonnell into submitting to their demands.
Over past decades, state legislators and governors have gradually imposed restrictions on abortion, including prior notification requirements, parental consent for minors and a ban on some late-term procedures. While those laws have chipped away at the rights recognized in Roe v. Wade, they have been within the landmark ruling and were the product of consensus among elected officials.
Cuccinelli's opinion has the potential to cut more deeply. Some abortion rights advocates estimate only three or four of the 21 clinics in the state could meet the regulations if they require the same staffing, equipment standards and construction design as hospitals. But it's also possible that state health appointees will conclude that the clinics are already safe because doctors who practice there must comply with a host of regulations.
McDonnell should make it clear to current and new members of the Board of Health that he will not allow them or himself to be intimidated.
This isn't the first time that Cuccinelli and Marshall have teamed up to push an agenda that couldn't survive in the legislature. Marshall sought and won opinions concluding that police can ask about the immigration status of people they stop, and that local governments are permitted to have religious holiday displays on public property. Marshall is also seeking Cuccinelli's help in an effort to block McDonnell from accepting federal education aid.
The attorney general's office is not a branch of government. Cuccinelli's job is not to make law but to defend those passed by the legislature and signed by the governor. Likewise, Marshall is not a branch of government unto himself but rather 0.7 percent of the legislative branch.
Whatever McDonnell may think of the cause Cuccinelli and Marshall are pursuing, he must not allow them to run roughshod over democratic institutions and the voters. If he does, the casualties will include not only the rights of Virginia women but also his own authority.
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End Around?
You mean like the Obama administration's attempt to provide federal funding for stem cell research in contravention of existing federal law? The attempt a federal judge corrected? Many of the same people condemning AG Cuccinelli for his attempt to ignore the legislature, to include the Pilot, applaud President Obama’s doing so. Be consistent.
I believe stem cell research holds great potential to lead to cures for all sorts of maladies, but until the law is changed it is illegal to use federal dollars to do so except in very limited circumstances. I’d prefer the Democrats to hurry up and get something done about it before the midterms because if the Republicans take charge of even one house of Congress there’s no way it’ll get through.
Vote republican
Kenny is just one of many republicans that firmly believe the ends justify the means. Anything is ok as long as you are doing Gods work. The constitution means exactly what kenny says it means. Vote republican and get morw of the same.
Double standard of Pilot
I guess it is all right for Obama to use every trick in the book to shove a bad health care law down our throats with Pelosi's and Reed's help but, why should anyopne try to make a clinic live up to high standards when all they do is give abortions. I mean it is just a minor procedure.
Our comments on health care reform, from March 18:
"It appears now that the only way health insurance will pass Congress is by means of legislative trickery. ...
"Such maneuvers provide no cover. If health care reform passes in this manner, Democrats will be rightfully lacerated for anti-democratic shenanigans. If health care reform doesn't pass, Democrats will be faced with failure on the president's signature issue.
"On balance, it is better to do something to reform the nation's health care system than to do nothing. Better for the nation's economy and for the condition of the federal budget. But it will be better for the nation itself only if it can also be done without inflicting injury on the democratic process."
That proves it
The reliance on facts and reality is an unmistakable indicator of "liberalism"!
The facts and reality of the last paragraph said it all
The very well written last sentence below parsed the condemnation and the protest. Perhaps a direct call of simplicity of, "It will be better for the nation itself if it is done without inflicting injury on the democratic process. There can be no other alternative but the passage with inclusion."
A direct stance aimed not at the time for reasoning but rather the clear voice of the mother calling her child for supper that anyone can understand.
"On balance, it is better to do something to reform the nation's health care system than to do nothing. Better for the nation's economy and for the condition of the federal budget. But it will be better for the nation itself only if it can also be done without inflicting injury on the democratic process."
And i recall from that editorial that the "legislative trickery"
... pertained to a short-lived discussion about NOT having a vote and instead using a budget "reconcilliation" tactic. And that reconcilliation tactic was quickly shelved. And the orderous cornhusker kickback was scotched as well. The House did vote and a majority voted to pass the legislation. And the Senate did vote and a majority voted to pass the legislation. And that represents a devious example of legislative "shove down our throats" trickery where a MAJORITY of Congressmen VOTED to pass the bill. I guess the Teaple had grown so accustomed to the 1000 legislative-thwarting Signing Statements by Shrubber that this represented uncomfortable new ground for 'em.
TR, You and your friends
TR, You and your friends still haven't read the bill have you?
Jay
Care to comment on what i posted?
Silver Lining
Here's the silver lining for moderates and progressive-to-liberals in Virginia. With the track record Kenny the Kook is clearly displaying I would imagine it will be next to impossible for him to run as a "moderate" Conservative like Bob McDonnell did a few years ago. To his credit, he as ideologically pure and I have no doubt where he stands on just about any issue of importance and for that consistency I thank him.