Prince William County, Va., Resolution Supports Stricter Rules For Abortion Clinics

Last Tuesday, the six Republican members of the Prince William County, Va., Board of County Supervisors officially endorsed state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's (R) recent legal opinion that the state can impose stricter regulations on clinics offering first trimester abortion services, the Washington Post reports (Buske, Washington Post, 10/31). In August, Cuccinelli concluded that the state Board of Health can require abortion clinics to meet the same standards as hospitals. Abortion-rights advocates say the change could force 17 of the state's 21 abortion clinics to close due to the financial burden of meeting the new requirements.

During an Oct. 26 meeting, the six supervisors approved a resolution calling on Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) to direct the state Boards of Health and Medicine to publish and implement regulations for the abortion clinics and providers. The panel's two Democratic members abstained from voting on the resolution. Supervisor Frank Principi said, "I don't think it is appropriate for the board to act on a state and federal matter despite the fact I am a pro-life advocate," adding that it is "totally inappropriate to act on this."

Although there are no abortion clinics in Prince William County, Supervisor John Stirrup, who introduced the resolution, said that "it would be ignorant not to recognize" that county residents visit a facility in nearby Manassas. Stirrup added that the resolution "deals with one thing and one thing only, and that is the protection of women's health."

Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, said the Manassas clinic -- Amethyst Health Center for Women -- has been in operation for more than 20 years and serves nearly 1,200 patients annually. Saporta added that the clinic is regulated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments program and NAF (Washington Post, 10/31).

On Oct. 4, the Manassas, Va., City Council passed a resolution supporting Cucinelli's legal opinion (Women's Health Policy Report, 10/5).