Clinic restrictions minus a safety net

It should be everyone's goal to reduce the number of abortions performed in Virginia. The best way to do that is to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. But that wasn't the tactic chosen by Republican lawmakers last week.

Instead, they decided to clamp down abortions in the commonwealth by imposing new standards that could force the closure of as many as 17 of the 21 existing clinics offering first-trimester procedures.

Specifically, the General Assembly adopted a last-minute measure requiring the Board of Health to regulate clinics as hospitals. The legislation, which Gov. Bob McDonnell has promised to sign into law, would set more stringent rules than those used for other invasive medical procedures such as cosmetic and dental surgery.

The precise impact of the measure may not be known for years. Lawsuits are likely to delay implementation. Meanwhile, it's unclear how the regulatory board, now controlled by appointees of former Gov. Tim Kaine, will react to the instructions.

But even if Republican lawmakers succeeded in shuttering every clinic in the state, they would not abolish unwanted pregnancies, and thus, they would not wipe out abortions. Instead, by reducing access to safe and legal clinics, they will push many desperate teenagers who have already made one risky decision to compound that mistake by choosing an illegal and dangerous end to their pregnancies.

Supporters of the clinic regulations have had many opportunities to reduce abortions by addressing the societal conditions that inevitably lead to unwanted pregnancies. Did they speak against state budget cuts in recent years to prenatal care for low-income women or pre-school programs? Did they advocate for child care assistance or greater access to birth control? Certainly, a few can answer in the affirmative. But if a majority of those voting for the clinic regulations had fought equally hard for those other programs, the budget adopted Sunday would reflect starkly different priorities.

Just as abortions will not end in Virginia, the debate over life and choice will continue. The divisive tone of that debate reflects a profound conflict that torments every Virginian and every human being. The extinguishment of a life before the first breath can be taken is repugnant to those who have been permitted to breathe. Equally repugnant is a government that inflicts its will on a teenager without the resources or the maturity to shoulder adult responsibilities.

Regardless of how those two interests are balanced, society will pay the price. The price is far greater when that decision is made without ensuring that a meaningful safety net exists for those who must face the consequences.

There is no simple solution. The discussion itself is deeply painful. But the lawmakers who authored last week's clinic legislation refused to even attempt that discussion, opting instead to cloak their actions in parliamentary maneuvers. Their failure to confront the issue directly has widened the chasm that divides the two sides and made real, honest solutions more elusive than ever.