Debate on abortion clinic rules persists

Although abortion rights advocates lost the fight to soften the impact of temporary state regulations on Virginia clinics, they haven't stopped trying to shape the final rules.

Members of the Virginia Coalition to Protect Women's Health plan to testify before the State Board of Health at a meeting Friday in suburban Richmond.

The regulations signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell last month would hold clinics to architectural standards that many facilities don't presently meet, and establish annual licensing protocols and procedures for unannounced inspections, among other directives.

Coalition members say the health board wants to adopt the temporary regulations as the permanent rules.

Support for the stricter rules is shared by many abortion opponents, including some faith-based advocacy groups, who say it requires greater government oversight to protect patient safety.

But abortion rights supporters claim the regulations are designed to force clinics out of business by imposing standards that make compliance difficult.

-- Julian Walker

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