Virginia Board of Health to Review Current Strict State Abortion Laws

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, the state's third democratic governor since 2002, appointed five new members to the Board of Health to review the strict abortion laws implemented by the previous republican governor, Bob McDonnell.

The health board's review - now comprised of abortion rights supporters - can take over two years because the regulations approved in 2011 are set to take effect in June. Virginia's 18 abortion clinics now must abide by the same strict building codes as new hospitals; a measure believed to force shutdowns in clinics that can't afford the new renovations. Since 2011 five clinics have closed.

Former Governor McDonnell's regulations are already hindering and will likely further hinder women's access to this form of health care moving forward. The regulations require the clinics to undergo costly renovations that include widening the facility's hallways and increasing the number of parking spots for patients. The state's clinics have until June to comply with the laws.

"This is not just a health issue - it's an economic issue," Governor McAuliffe said yesterday, in this MSNBC News article. "In order to grow and diversify our economy, Virginia needs to be open and welcoming to all, and we need to ensure that all Virginia women have access to the health care resources they need."

Perhaps both republicans and democrats are mired in dirty politics. During McDonnell's tenure, the Board of Health caved to political pressure and ruled that the new law will apply to all of the states abortion clinics as opposed to only the new locations. Governor McAuliffe answered that by appointing five pro-abortion members to the board in hopes of changing the regulations.

Governor McDonnell's measures were a part of the Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP), a nationwide push to have abortion clinics adhere to the same construction standards used for hospitals. Governor McAuliffe calls the regulations "arbitrary" and "marked by political interference," in this Huffington Post article. He is striving to keep the abortion clinics open during the health board's review, so they can remain operating without signing off on the 2011 regulations.

He may be facing fierce opposition, as Virginia's House of Representatives is republican-dominated and the State Senate is split on representation.