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"Physician-only" abortion restriction struck down in Virginia -- but only for the first trimester
Source: The Virginian-Pilot
"Physician-only" abortion restriction struck down in Virginia — but only for the first trimester
By Katherine Hafner
Staff writer
May 7, 2019 Updated 55 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.
-snip-
By Katherine Hafner
Staff writer
May 7, 2019 Updated 55 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.
-snip-
Read more: https://pilotonline.com/news/government/virginia/article_341679a6-70c6-11e9-96c3-a72e110105b3.html