Virginia's novel approach to ending abortion. Will it stand up in court?

American Thinker ^ | 02/26/2011 | Joseph Ashby

[SeekAndFind]

The 2006 film Amazing Grace depicts William Wilberforce's campaign to end the slave trade in Great Britain. A scene from the movie depicts the abolitionist Members of Parliament discussing how to proceed in the legislature after numerous failures. The issue had become so polarized that a direct vote on the slave trade was a losing proposition. The following dialogue between Wilberforce and fellow Member of Parliament James Stephen (who was about to present his eye witness account of slave operations to the rest of Parliament) ensues:

Stephen: If we go to Parliament with this evidence, there'll be sympathy, there'll be concern, but it'll be just the same as every other time.

Wilberforce: Have you come back to preach hopelessness?

Stephen: No. No, I've had an idea. In my law books I might have stumbled across something and I want to propose it as a strategy. Nosus Decipio. It's Latin. Loosely translated, it means..."we cheat".

The abolitionists created a bill that would put most of the slave traders out of business without directly voting on trade itself. The abolitionists regulated the bulk of the slave-trade out of business.

The Virginia legislature has found a similar route to help end abortion in the state. The legislature passed a law that requires abortion clinics to comply with same regulations as hospitals. From the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Under the legislation, any physician's office performing five or more first trimester abortions a month would be classified as a hospital, subject to special regulations established by the state Board of Health within the next 280 days.

The regulations will require abortion clinics to retrofit their operations. The retrofit could mean everything from widening hallways to additional employee training, according to the Associated Press. The Dispatch reports that most of the state's abortion clinics will be forced to close because of the "lengthy and costly certification process that most clinics could not afford."

The passage of the bill was something of a cliffhanger. The Virginia senate is controlled by the Democrats, 22-18. For that reason, life bills generally die in committee. But the Republican controlled house included the provision as an amendment to a bill already passed by the senate, thereby passing the committee process by putting the bill up for a vote by the entire senate. The two Democrat senators that vote with the pro-life bloc brought the tally to 20 Yeas and 20 Nays. The tie-breaker was made by pro-life Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling.
 
The abortion lobby will certainly challenge the law in court. But the chances are far better that a court rules in favor of a health-facility regulation than a law restricting abortions in the first trimester.

[Joe 6-pack]

Oops...last line should read:

"...will make it very, very difficult for any person with any political aspirations to defend against “common-sense regulation” of the abortion industry.

[tanknetter]

In Roe v Wade, SCOTUS specifically avoided making a determination when life begins. I always thought this was a loophole for the states. I'm waiting for a state to have the cajones to pass legislation saying life begins at conception.

IIRC there have been states that have done this.

Amusingly (if anything related to abortion can be described as "amusing"), in one state that I remember offhand the law of unintended consequences came into play. There were all sorts of 15 and 20 year-olds filing suit to be able to drive and drink alcohol (respectively) based on their lives having begun 9 months before they were born. I think there were even Medicare-related suits based on the same principle.

[MsLady]

Your right, I'm impatient :)

What Gosnell did, is probably just the tip of the iceberg. My guess is you could go into any abortion clinic and find in your face blatant violations of the law as well as health dept. violations.

Between, Lila Rose and several books I've read from people who left the abortion industry, you could pretty much bet I'm right on that. If you ever get a chance read the book Lime 5. Even the CDC covers up abortion related deaths of women.

[org.whodat]

Will not stand up in court, the grandfather clause, would say this is a taking, therefore illegal.

[little jeremiah]

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Excellent. If abortion can't be defeated outright by one way, it can be defeated roundabout by other ways. Many ways. And public sentiment is turning towards life.

[trisham]

It’s very clever, even brilliant.

[little jeremiah]

How can anyone possibly object? They are boxed into a corner.

[trisham]

I hope so, but I distrust them.

[cycjec]

Thanks. It’s a screenwriters effort, judging from the
OP.

[cycjec]

“decipio” is first person singular. “nos” == “we” is
first person plural.

[newzjunkey]

I don’t understand how tightening health and safety regulations could be construed as a taking. Please explain further.

[org.whodat]

You cannot set new standards for existing buildings. And yes it has already been to the supreme court.

[RKBA Democrat]

Glad this happened in my beloved Commonwealth.

I think it’s constitutional. So long as the standards are not applied more harshly than they are to any other hospital, then the pro-aborts will have a hard time in court.

The nice part to savor here was the parliamentary ruse that got the bill through. Most good bills go to the VA Senate to die. This one managed to squeak through.

[KimberInKhaki]

The Virginia legislature has found a similar route to help end abortion in the state. The legislature passed a law that requires abortion clinics to comply with same regulations as hospitals. From the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Under the legislation, any physician's office performing five or more first trimester abortions a month would be classified as a hospital, subject to special regulations established by the state Board of Health within the next 280 days.

The regulations will require abortion clinics to retrofit their operations. The retrofit could mean everything from widening hallways to additional employee training, according to the Associated Press. The Dispatch reports that most of the state's abortion clinics will be forced to close because of the "lengthy and costly certification process that most clinics could not afford."

Great idea!

[EDINVA]

I love that it was done within days of Dr. Bernard Nathanson’s passing .. maybe God’s way of letting us know Dr. Nathanson is still working for the pro-life movement. And I am so very proud of our Virginia legislature.

[wagglebee]

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