On Monday, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 63-34 to amend the Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers (TRAP) bill to impose increased regulations on abortion providers. If passed in the Senate, the bill would require that abortion clinics that perform five or more abortions yearly be licensed by the Board of Health and comply with the regulations for ambulatory surgery centers. Previously, only abortion providers that conducted 25 abortions annually were subject to these regulations.
The bill awaits a vote in the state Senate. Reproductive rights groups, including the Feminist Majority, the National Organization for Women, and the American Civil Liberties Union, oppose the bill which would impose unnecessary and onerous regulations on abortion providers and restrict women’s access to reproductive health services.
