Page 26 • Warren County Report • Early May, 2013
Read this issue FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com
“Today the Board of Health succumbed to Ken Cuccinelli and his extreme allies’ efforts to bully through an open assault on the health of women across this commonwealth.” – state Delegate Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia
State
Board okays strict rules for abortion clinics Opponents say Cuccinelli social agenda, not safety at issue By Dana Carlson Capital News Service RICHMOND, April 12 – The Virginia Board of Health voted 112 Friday, April 12, to require abortion clinics to meet hospital building-code standards – rules that abortion rights activists said would force many of the state’s 20 clinics to close. Abortion rights advocates responded to the board’s vote by singing and waving signs in protest. Security guards escorted the protesters, including Jeff Winder, of the group Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers, out of the meeting room at Perimeter Center in Henrico County. “This is a sham. We pretend we are
participating in a democratic process. You have caved in to the rightwing agenda of Ken Cuccinelli,” Winder told the board earlier. Hours after the board’s vote, Cuccinelli certified that the regulation complied with the law. The rules now must be approved by the state Department of Planning and Budget, Virginia’s secretary of health and human resources and Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell. Democrats issued a statement condemning the board’s decision. “Today the Board of Health succumbed to Ken Cuccinelli and his extreme allies’ efforts to bully through an open assault on the health of women across this commonwealth,” said state Delegate Charniele Herring of Alexandria,
chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia. Last summer, Attorney General Cuccinelli, who is expected to garner the Republican nomination for governor next month, told the Board of Health not to exempt existing abortion clinics from the regulations approved in 2011 by the General Assembly. At the time those regulations appeared aimed at full-service hospitals. Among other things, the rules require renovations, such as wider hallways and doorways. Clinic operators say such physical-plant requirements would be prohibitively expensive, driving them out of business. And opponents of the changes say that was exactly the intent of a Vir-
New Fitness Classes in Front royal
Our fitness center located in the Warren Memorial Hospital Outpatient Center is starting a new monthly series of exercise classes. The cost for each four-week class is $35. A drop-in fee of $5 per class session is also available – please call ahead (minimum number of participants required, and spot not guaranteed if class is full). Classes will begin May 6 (Please sign up by May 2).
Bodies in Balance – Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 11–11:45 a.m. Confetti Fitness for the Active Older Adult Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 9–9:45 a.m.
Fitness for the Diabetic – Monday & Thursday, 8:00–8:45 a.m.
Lunch Time Yoga – Two days a week, 12:15–12:45 p.m., at Warren Memorial Hospital
Men Only – Monday, Tuesday & Thursday,
ginia attorney general who has been both widely lauded and criticized for utilizing his public office to promote conservative social agendas. The Virginia Society for Human Life, an anti-abortion group, applauded Friday’s decision by the Board of Health to classify facilities performing five or more first-trimester abortions per month as hospitals. “These reasonable regulations will begin to rein in reckless abortionists in Virginia,” Olivia Gans Turner, the society’s president, said in a statement. But she said the rules do not go far enough to “protect the unborn children who lives are taken during every abortion.” Selective safety? Abortion rights advocates like Molly Vick said the rules were aimed at stopping abortions – not ensuring safe conditions at abortion clinics. Vick urged the Board of Health to exempt existing clinics from the costly structural modifications, as the state has done in regulating other health facilities. “Please understand you are set-
ting precedents,” Vick said. “We cannot have selective application of the law. When hospitals and nursing homes were regulated, new and existing were separated and old facilities were grandfathered in.” Eileen Davis, a nurse practitioner, also urged the board not to be “capricious” in singling out abortion providers. She said the rules should be applied equally to facilities to provide liposuction, dental surgery and colonoscopies. “I want to see the same care in any other outpatient facility,” Davis said. Elizabeth Musselman, a physician, agreed: “You can’t regulate some businesses out of business because you don’t agree with them. That’s not fair and reasonable.” On the other side of the debate, some abortion opponents expressed concern for the physical health of those getting abortions. “It’s not about pro-life or prochoice; it’s about safety,” said Sandy Adams, a mother of six, grandmother of five and nurse of 24 years. “If my daughter chose to have an abortion, I would want her to go to a safe facility.”
CHARLIE’S THRIFT STORE - A place filled with love –
• Households • Toys • Furniture • Clothing • Donations Accepted • Rear of Building • No couches or Mattresses •
Tues. - Fri. 9am - 6pm • Sat. 10am - 6pm • Sun. & Mon. CLOSED 650 West 11th St. #A, Front Royal, VA
(540) 622-2252 • (540) 683-1740
10–10:45 a.m.
Restorative Yoga – Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday, 8–8:45 a.m.
Yoga Flow – Tuesday & Thursday, 9–9:45 a.m. Zumba – Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, 5–5:45 p.m. For more information or to sign up for a class, call 540-635-0720 Warren Memorial Hospital Outpatient Center 120 North Commerce Avenue, Front Royal
Warren County Local is a newly formed chapter of Special Olympics, providing local sports for people with intellectual disabilities in Front Royal and Warren County. The next planned event will be Swimming.
@ Dominion Health & Fitness
Saturdays • 10am - 11am June 15, 2013 - July 27, 2013 New athletes must submit medical and registration forms before participating. Registration is on-going and valid for three years. For additional information contact:
Jackie Jenkins @ 540-635-2725 ext. 33223 www.valleyhealthlink.com/warrenfitnessclasses
special.olympics.wc@gmail.com