Board of Health Delays Action on Abortion Health and Safety Standards…For Now!

Today the Virginia Board of Health decided to delay the process of watering down abortion center health and safety standards until its December meeting, in front of a noteworthy pro-abortion crowd. This decision comes several months after The Family Foundation won an important case to undo the illegal regulatory changes made to the standards during Terry McAuliffe’s administration. Despite the large pro-abortion crowd in attendance, and heavy police presence, the Board delayed action pending a decision in the Falls Church Medical Center v. Oliver case recently heard in Federal District Court in May/June.

Our staff was at the meeting to speak on behalf of the women who are at severe risk if these regulations are overturned and the thousands of unborn lives tragically ended through abortion.

While the Board deferred a vote on its proposed changes, the proposed regulations make dramatic alterations to all 38 regulatory sections of the chapter governing abortion facilities. In fact, they go even further to prevent important and basic oversight of abortion facilities. The proposed regulations elevate administrative convenience and profit above the health and safety of women seeking an abortion by replacing commonsense health and safety requirements with loosened standards that essentially free abortion providers from any accountability.

For several years, we’ve seen at least a thousand regulatory violations from inspection reports conducted in abortion facilities across Virginia. They have lifted the veil on just how careless, unsanitary and inhumane this industry truly is which endangers the lives of so many women. One example is the Virginia Health Group, which was so bad that even Gov. McAuliffe's own Health Commissioner shut it down within hours of an inspection of the facility that was triggered by a patient complaint. As you can see, these regulations help ensure some accountability by revealing the pervasive darkness of an industry that has proven to care more about profiting off of the vulnerably of women facing difficult life decisions.

At the very least, the women making such a terrible – often desperate or coerced - choice should be in a facility that meets basic safety standards, but the $1 billion abortion industry opposes even minimum infection prevention standards, inspection of equipment, and even record-keeping requirement.

We will continue to monitor the Board’s actions and expose how they do nothing but allow the abortion industry to continue to line their pockets with blood money from vulnerable women.