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April 15, 2013

Virginia Board of Health OKs New Limits on Abortion Clinics 
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The Virginia Board of Health, meanwhile, has signed off on new
regulations that could force the closure of some of the state's abortion
clinics. A 2011 measure dubbed by critics as a "Targeted Regulation of
Abortion Providers," or TRAP law, requires clinics that provide
abortions to meet the same building standards as hospitals. Critics say
the TRAP rules are a thinly veiled attempt to limit access to abortion
services because clinics unable to afford to overhaul their buildings
would close down. Other states have imposed similar regulations, but
Virginia's are said to be the harshest to date. The former head of the
Virginia Board of Health, Dr. Karen Remley, resigned in protest of the
clinic rules last year.

 

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