Morning Roundup: Virginia Clinics Regulations Fast-Tracked

Beth Saunders

Georgia tables motion that would have forced all abortions into hospitals, new Virginia clinic regulations will be set in months, people with HIV at greater risk of bone fractures, and the Utah legislature passes three abortion-related bills.

Georgia tables motion that would have forced all abortions into hospitals, new Virginia clinic regulations will be set in months, people with HIV at greater risk of bone fractures, and the Utah legislature passes three abortion-related bills.

  • A Georgia bill that would have forced all abortions in that state to be done in hospitals is essentially done for the legislative year after the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee tabled the motion.
  • In Virginia, where abortion clinics are now subject to new regulations that could force many to close, the Board of Health is barreling ahead with the new rulemaking process. Under state law, the Board has a limited amount of time to draft the rules, which will likely be set by mid-September and enacted by January 1, 2012. After the board drafts rules, Governor Bob McDonnell will have an opportunity to amend the regulations without public comment. Anti-abortion activists have long pushed the state to enact rules that would require clinics to be regulated as ambulatory surgical centers rather than doctor’s offices.
  • People with HIV are at greater risk of broken bones, due to reduced bone mineral density. Researchers hope that the findings will help improve bone health among HIV patients. HIV-positive men tend to have more fractures of the wrist and vertebra, while women tend to experience problems with the femoral neck and vertebra.
  • The Utah legislature has passed three abortion-related bills in their 2011 session. First, any health care professional in the state can refuse to participate in an abortion on religious or moral grounds. Second, a bill that requires insurance plans in the state to deny claims for “elective” abortions, and third, a requirement for the State Board of Health to inspect clinics twice per year, without prior notice.

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