Cuccinelli Issues Opinion on Abortion Clinic Regulation
By Krystle Weeks | Monday, August 30th, 2010 | PolicyLast week, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued an opinion on whether or not the Commonwealth can regulate the operations of abortion clinics. This opinion came at the request of Del. Bob Marshall (R-Manassas) and Sen. Ralph Smith (R-Botetourt). Cuccinelli ruled after thoroughly reviewing the existing law and other court decisions that the Commonwealth could regulate abortion clinics.
The state has long regulated outpatient surgical facilities and personnel to ensure a certain level of protection for patients. There is no reason to hold facilities providing abortion services to any lesser standard for their patients. Even pharmacies, funeral homes, and veterinary clinics are regulated by the state.
The attorney general’s official opinions do not create new law. Instead, the opinions represent the attorney general’s analysis of the current state of the law based on his thorough review of existing law and relevant prior court decisions.
Here are the opinions sent to Del. Marshall and Sen. Smith.
Meanwhile, the opponents of the Attorney General’s decision continue to argue that it will cause abortion clinics to shut down and impair a woman’s right to obtain an abortion. They fail to recognize that the Attorney General was merely releasing an opinion based on legislative requests. Abortion clinics are just like any other outpatient surgical clinic, and they should be held to the same standards as facilities, who specialize in outpatient surgical procedures.
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About the author
Growing up in Maryland typically does not yield a Republican. Fortunately, Krystle Weeks was one of the lucky few booted to the Commonwealth for her staunch conservative views. From an early age, she has been debating politics, and since 2006, she has been involved here in the Commonwealth helping Republican candidates to victory. Aside from politics, Krystle is a runner and a dynamite cook. You can email her here. Krystle also blogs at Crystal Clear Conservative and Charm Offensive Cooking.
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Comments
6 Responses to "Cuccinelli Issues Opinion on Abortion Clinic Regulation"
This is probably the first time that abortion rights supporters are not trying to define abortion as just an outpatient surgical procedure.
I find it interesting how in the article on this in the Pilot, those who were pro-abortion were all concerned because this happened in South Carolina, which cause the abortion rate to go down.
So, then the goal is to have MORE abortions?
I thought that even the “pro-choice” crowd preferred birth control education to abortion. Isn’t the abortion rate dropping always a good thing, no matter the reason?
Brilliant, Georgie. So much for “legal, safe and rare!”
Sorry that this is a bit off subject, however something to consider in the abortion debate.
“Between 10% and 50% of pregnancies end in clinically apparent miscarriage, depending upon the age and health of the pregnant woman.[7] Most miscarriages occur very early in pregnancy, in most cases, they occur so early in the pregnancy that the woman is not even aware that she was pregnant. One study testing hormones for ovulation and pregnancy found that 61.9% of conceptuses were lost prior to 12 weeks, and 91.7% of these losses occurred subclinically, without the knowledge of the once pregnant woman.[8]
The risk of spontaneous abortion decreases sharply after the 10th week from the last menstrual period (LMP).[7][9] One study of 232 pregnant women showed “virtually complete [pregnancy loss] by the end of the embryonic period” (10 weeks LMP) with a pregnancy loss rate of only 2 percent after 8.5 weeks LMP.[10]
The most common cause of spontaneous abortion during the first trimester is chromosomal abnormalities of the embryo/fetus,[11] accounting for at least 50% of sampled early pregnancy losses”
I find the study testing hormones to be most interesting. It would indicate that almost 2/3 of pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion, truly a most astounding number.
Also it would indicate that limiting abortion to the first 12 weeks might be reasonable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7117572
Georgie Gale and Brian Kirwin,
So then you guys/gals are also going to come out for birth control education? That’s not going to make the Pope happy.
Georgie and Brian, I suspect the concern is not a decrease in number of abortions, but that the decrease came from lack of access to clinics. The goal is always fewer unwanted pregnancies, thus fewer abortions- even my most vehement pro-abortion friends say this.
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