Today, at the extreme anti-choice National Right to Life Convention (NRLC), gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie praised the same onerous abortion regulations that led Ken Cuccinelli down an extreme path and caused him to lose the Governor's race in 2013. Virginia's TRAP laws have been deemed “the nation’s most draconian anti-abortion regulations.”
Last week, the Supreme Court found that similar TRAP laws in Texas were medically unnecessary and unconstitutional.
Here's what Gillespie said:
“And the Supreme Court's recent Hellerstedt decision struck down a Texas law that insured abortion clinics and abortion providers have to meet the same standards of those of hospitals. This decision will have a significant impact on states like Virginia where we have laws to protect women's health and safety by preventing sub-standard and shoddy care.”
"Gillespie is praising the same failed, misguided, and unconstitutional regulations that Cuccinelli bolstered and led to his loss in 2013," said Emily Bolton of the Democratic Party of Virginia. "One thing is clear: Virginia voters do not want a Cuccinelli clone like Ed Gillespie in the Governor's mansion."
BACKGROUND:
As Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli improperly bullied the state Board of Health into retrospectively applying
Democrats remained on the side of Virginia women throughout
- In 2012, then state-Senator Ralph Northam called the push a "crusade to limit access to reproductive health care by imposing unreasonable regulations on abortion clinics.” [10/26/2012]
- In 2015 Attorney General Mark Herring issued an official opinion to correct previous legal actions saying,"That inappropriate intrusion produced regulations that would impose a de facto abortion ban in Virginia.” [5/4/2015]