On Fri., Aug. 20, another of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s opinions wafted down from his lofty perch that overlooks the rest of Virginia’s government. Once again, Gov. Bob McDonnell and senior members of the General Assembly were left to marvel at the power being wielded by the attorney general’s office in 2010.
Prompted by a request from Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William), Cuccinelli’s written response said this in its third paragraph:
“It is my opinion that the Commonwealth has the authority to promulgate regulations for facilities in which first trimester abortions are performed as well as for providers of first trimester abortions, so long as the regulations adhere to constitutional limitations.”
The bottom line of the seven-page opinion would seem to have the Virginia Board of Health imposing sweeping new regulations on Virginia’s 21 abortion clinics. Currently, those clinics are being held to the statewide standards of a doctor’s office. Cuccinelli apparently wants to raise the bar, so that first-trimester abortions will have to be performed in hospitals, or in facilities that meet the same standards of hospitals.
NARAL Pro-Choice America promptly opined that as many as 17 of the 21 existing clinics in Virginia would likely close up, because they will not be able to afford all the necessary changes to meet the regulations Cuccinelli wants to see put in place.
That raised bar would force the Richmond Medical Center for Women, which has been in operation at the intersection of North Boulevard and Grove Ave. since 1975, to make some changes to its building and expand its staff. Or, it would just have to stop performing abortions.
Thus, if the Board of Health abides by Cuccinelli’s opinion and forces new government regulations on small clinics performing first-trimester abortions, the price of such procedures will go up considerably. Of course, it’s easy to see what part of the community would be most adversely affected by less accessibility and higher prices.
In this case, in the name of safeguarding the health of women, it seems Virginia’s attorney general is attempting to accomplish something that he could not as a legislator -- to shut down most of Virginia‘s clinics that perform first-trimester abortions. When he was a member of the General Assembly Cuccinelli was part of a push to pass laws that would have accomplished much the same thing that his opinion covers. It didn’t work.
It’s no wonder pro-choice activists now see his “opinion” as an end-run around the legislative process -- the way of shaping public policy conservatives usually hail as sacred. At least they do when they are busy criticizing so-called “activist judges.”
Has the reader heard any Republican lawmakers sounding off about how wrong it is to have an “activist attorney general,” who legislates by fiat?
When other surgical procedures, such as colonoscopies and breast augmentations, are routinely done in doctors’ offices, why target abortion? Page 4 of Cuccinelli’s opinion addresses that question:
“Regulatory boards may distinguish between abortion and other procedures because, abortion is inherently different from other medical procedures, and for the purpose of regulation, abortion services are rationally distinct from other routine medical services if for no other reason than the particular gravitas of the moral, psychological, and familial aspects of the abortion decision.”
Now we’re talking about gravitas and morality? That sounds more like it's about religion than safe surgery.
Speaking of safe surgery, has there been a problem with botched abortions at the clinics? Has Virginia suffered a rash of abortion providers demonstrating their incompetence?
On Page 6 of Cuccinelli’s opinion he bats away that question, which would seem to be especially germane to the issue:
“Recognizing that the state has a valid interest from the outset of the pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life of the fetus, the [United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit] found that ‘there is no requirement that a state refrain from regulating abortion facilities until a public-health problem manifests itself.’”
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what the Virginia Board of Health will do. It is apparently not obligated to change its standards as Cuccinelli has suggested.
If nothing else, Cuccinelli’s latest headline-making opinion has injected the abortion issue back into the political game, just 10 weeks before Election Day. No one who follows Virginia politics should be much surprised that Cuccinelli's thumb is on the plunger.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement