Manassas council urges Virginia to regulate abortion clinics

[Derechos]

By Jennifer Buske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 3, 2010

Opponents of abortion in the Manassas area scored a victory Monday when the City Council passed a resolution supporting the Virginia attorney general's August legal opinion that the state can impose stricter regulations over first-trimester abortion clinics.

"This is an important resolution," said Prince William County resident Tim Jackson, one of about 100 people who erupted in applause following the council's action. "I believe abortion should be illegal, but if it's going to be done, it needs to be regulated."

Manassas is home to Amethyst Health Center for Women, a clinic off Sudley Road that performs first-trimester abortions and has been open for more than 20 years.

"Women can go to Amethyst with great confidence, and there is no reason for Manassas City Council to call for further regulations of that clinic, and there is no need for the attorney general to call for more regulations for abortion clinics across the state," said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation. "The real goal of the attorney general is to make abortion care more difficult for women to access, not to make it safer."

Manassas's resolution calls on Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) to direct the Virginia Board of Health to publish regulations for facilities providing first-trimester abortions and to establish qualifications for doctors who perform abortions. Passed 5 to 1, with council member Mark D. Wolfe (R) casting the dissenting vote, the resolution also says the council's position is that the Prince William Health District has a mandatory legal duty to enforce all existing and future regulations pertaining to such abortion facilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/01/AR2010100107555.html

[ehrnst]

1. Total BS - it is regulated by the same entity that regulates other comparable surgeries.

This is yet another PL "solution in search of a problem" laws meant to make people believe that a non-existent problem needs to be solved.