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"Physician-only" abortion restriction struck down in Virginia -- but only for the first trimester
"Physician-only" abortion restriction struck down in Virginia — but only for the first trimester
By Katherine Hafner
Staff writer
May 7, 2019 Updated 27 min ago
A federal judge on Monday struck down Virginia's requirement that only licensed doctors perform first-trimester abortions, opening the door for nurses, physician assistants and others to handle the procedure for women in the commonwealth. ... "After a careful review of the experts' opinions from both sides, a consensus appears to have evolved that first trimester abortions, which typically require only medication, do not require the onsite presence of a licensed physician and (the rule) is consequently unduly burdensome," U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson wrote in his opinion from Richmond.
The rule was enacted in 1975. Hudson preserved the rule for second-trimester abortions, however, stating that serious complications that can arise in later term abortions "amply justify the requirement" in those cases.
The decision comes amid an ongoing case pitting abortion rights advocates against a host of Virginia prosecutors and health officials named as defendants. The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood and a coalition including medical centers sued the state last summer over the restrictions they see as medically unnecessary and designed to make accessing abortions more difficult. ... They argued against the licensed physician requirement as well as other rules, including a mandate that second-trimester abortions be performed in a licensed hospital and a "two-trip" law that requires most women to delay an abortion for at least 24 hours after an initial ultrasound.
Hudson's decision Monday was a narrow one, putting off both sides' requests for immediate judgment on the rest of their claims until a later trial. ... But for the licensing statute, he said "undisputed evidence" supports what the Supreme Court has upheld before, that "unnecessary health regulations that have the purpose or effect of presenting a substantial obstacle to a woman seeking an abortion impose an undue burden on the right."
....
Katherine Hafner, 757-222-5208, katherine.hafner@pilotonline.com, @khafner15
By Katherine Hafner
Staff writer
May 7, 2019 Updated 27 min ago
A federal judge on Monday struck down Virginia's requirement that only licensed doctors perform first-trimester abortions, opening the door for nurses, physician assistants and others to handle the procedure for women in the commonwealth. ... "After a careful review of the experts' opinions from both sides, a consensus appears to have evolved that first trimester abortions, which typically require only medication, do not require the onsite presence of a licensed physician and (the rule) is consequently unduly burdensome," U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson wrote in his opinion from Richmond.
The rule was enacted in 1975. Hudson preserved the rule for second-trimester abortions, however, stating that serious complications that can arise in later term abortions "amply justify the requirement" in those cases.
The decision comes amid an ongoing case pitting abortion rights advocates against a host of Virginia prosecutors and health officials named as defendants. The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood and a coalition including medical centers sued the state last summer over the restrictions they see as medically unnecessary and designed to make accessing abortions more difficult. ... They argued against the licensed physician requirement as well as other rules, including a mandate that second-trimester abortions be performed in a licensed hospital and a "two-trip" law that requires most women to delay an abortion for at least 24 hours after an initial ultrasound.
Hudson's decision Monday was a narrow one, putting off both sides' requests for immediate judgment on the rest of their claims until a later trial. ... But for the licensing statute, he said "undisputed evidence" supports what the Supreme Court has upheld before, that "unnecessary health regulations that have the purpose or effect of presenting a substantial obstacle to a woman seeking an abortion impose an undue burden on the right."
....
Katherine Hafner, 757-222-5208, katherine.hafner@pilotonline.com, @khafner15
Henry Hudson is RW.
