APV was founded nearly four years ago in response to the General Assembly’s last minute passage of TRAP (Targeted Regulations against Abortion Providers).  If these onerous and medically pointless regulations had been allowed to remain in place they would, as they were intended to do, have closed most of Virginia’s women’s health clinics that performed more than five abortions a month.  From the get go, this was bare-knuckled power politics and to the credit of the Pro Choice community and the many individual women and men who stood firm for reproductive rights, we rose to the challenge and lobbied, mobilized, campaigned and marched until today when we won a major victory.  Today the Virginia Board of Health agreed by a wide margin to revisit key issues with the regulations.

“The six areas of clinic regulations proposed for change include provisions covering parental consent, medical testing, anesthesia, administration, storage and dispensing of drugs, emergency services and facility design and construction.” Richmond Times Dispatch

APV President Scott Price said after the Board’s vote today.

“APV has testified, written, marched and organized in the hope of overturning the most egregious portions of this very flawed original legislation, and we are very happy to see the Board side with us today, but this is not the end: the law remains on the books and the anti-women, anti choice agenda is if anything stronger today in the legislature than it was four years ago.  We will remain vigilant and we will continue to voice our Progressive values on this issue. There is plenty of praise to go around here and we are glad to be one of the many groups that worked to make this happen, it was the right descion… finally”

Va. Board of Health backs move to amend abortion clinic rules