WaPo Editorial Board: ‘Mischief’ Drives ‘Incendiary’ Va. Law Regulating Abortion
The editorially-liberal Washington Post is hardly an enemy of government regulation. Except, of course, when it comes to moves to restrict abortion. In Wednesday's paper, the editorial board lamented “Va.'s abortion end run.” “Mischief, not public health, drives the push for new regulation,” griped the subheader. The online edition headline snarked that “Mischief drives change in Virginia abortion rules.” The Post dismissed as unprincipled and slippery the manner with which pro-life state legislators had pushed through a law that would require the Old Dominion's abortion clinics to be regulated like hospitals: PRINCIPLED OPPONENTS of abortion have options to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, including broadening access to contraception, promoting adoption and pushing abstinence-focused education. But Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly – with the help of two anti-abortion Democratic state senators – have taken a different tack. Through the use of legislative gimmickry – an amendment slipped on to a bill unrelated to abortion – they have pushed through a divisive measure that is unlikely to reduce the number of abortions performed in the commonwealth but which may eventually force some of the state's 21 abortion clinics to close – if it survives court challenges.
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on March 4, 2011. Filed under