Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Virginia AG Says Abortion Clinics Aren't Bound By Stricter Building Standards
New, strict building standards should not be applied retroactively to existing abortion clinics, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said Monday in an opinion contradicting advice given by his Republican predecessor. The new standards would treat abortion clinics like hospitals and cover issues such as hallway widths, closet sizes and covered entrances. Staff for former Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told state health officials during his tenure that abortion clinics must abide by the new rules. Herring now says that was bad advice and would essentially shut down abortion services in the state. (Suderman and O'Dell, 5/4)
Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) 颅sided Monday with abortion rights advocates seeking to free clinics from strict, hospital-style building standards, issuing a legal opinion that whipped up those on both sides of the polarizing issue. Herring鈥檚 action reverses an opinion from his Republican predecessor, Ken Cuccinelli II, and put an issue that has long divided lawmakers back on the front burner. The advisory opinion has no immediate effect on clinics currently operating, but it could influence the state Board of Health when members consider an overhaul of rules. (Portnoy and Vozzella, 5/4)
On Feb. 3, [Purvi] Patel became the first Indiana woman to be convicted of feticide in connection with her own miscarriage. Legal experts say her 20-year sentence for feticide and neglect of a dependent is one of the most severe penalties an American woman has faced for aborting her own pregnancy. Anti-abortion activists have shown little interest in the case. But Patel's feticide conviction under a state statute adopted in 1979 to fight illegal abortion clinics is raising questions among legal scholars, medical examiners and women's rights advocates about how much control women should have during their pregnancies, and whether they can be held criminally responsible when something goes wrong. (Disis, 5/3)
And troubling long-term data on complications related to聽an implanted contraceptive device is published after an unusual eight-year delay -
When a new contraceptive implant came on the market over a decade ago, it was considered a breakthrough for women who did not want to have more children, a sterilization procedure that could be done in a doctor鈥檚 office in just 10 minutes. Now, 13 years later, thousands of women who claim they were seriously injured by the implant are urging the Food and Drug Administration to take the device off the market and to warn the public about its complications. (Rabin, 5/3)
