New health regulations for Virginia’s abortion clinics are set to be implemented by Jan. 1, under a timetable presented to the state Board of Health on Friday.
The timeframe for implementing such rules is typically 18 months or longer. Language in a measure approved by the General Assembly, though, mandates that the board write the emergency regulations within 280 days of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signing the bill.
The Health Department is slated to write the new regulations requiring abortion clinics to meet hospital-style standards over the summer and deliver them to the board by Sept. 1. A public review process would follow before the board votes on them Sept. 15.
The draft rules will then go to the executive branch, which includes the offices of the attorney general and the governor, for review, with a deadline of Jan. 1 for McDonnell to sign the emergency regulations. They can be in place for up to 18 months while officials go through further review.
The measure to implement stricter regulations on the state’s abortion clinics was among the most controversial pieces of legislation taken up by the General Assembly this year. Pro-life advocates hailed its passage, while critics say the new rules could shutter 17 of the state’s 21 abortion clinics.
