Virginia AG Clarifies Application of Architectural Regs

[fusion_text]Yesterday, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring reversed the legal advice of former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, and clarified that building and construction requirements apply to new construction and not existing abortion providers in the state.

We never believed that these medically unnecessary architectural regulations should be applied to existing clinics in Virginia. As Attorney General Herring noted yesterday, laws are not applied retroactively unless the legislature explicitly says to do so, which the General Assembly did not do for these regulations.

Throughout the debate and passage of these regulations in 2011, it was clear that they were aimed at closing clinics and decreasing women’s access to abortion care. Anti-choice politicians repeatedly ignored scientific evidence and testimony from medical experts, health care providers, and even the Virginia Health Commissioner who later resigned over the passage of these unwarranted regulations.

We urge the Commissioner and the Board of Health to follow Herring’s opinion, and use evidence to guide future regulatory decisions about existing and new women’s health care providers in Virginia.[/fusion_text]