One more try

A bill that would make abortion clinics conform to stricter regulations stagnated in the Senate last week, but the regulation proposal is still alive.

The House of Delegates voted Monday to amend SB 924, a bill that would require the Board of Health to dictate new minimum standards for hospitals and nursing homes. The amendment, sponsored by Del. Kathy Byron (R-Dist. 22), would re-classify facilities in which five or more first trimester abortions are performed per month as a category of

"hospital." The amended bill cleared the House by a vote of 67-32 Monday.

Since the Senate bill was amended in the House, it will return to the full Senate for approval, bypassing the Senate Education and Health Committee, a traditional burial ground for pro-life measures.

"We have always felt that our pro-life legislation would stand a far greater chance of passage in the full Senate," said Virginia Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb. "This is a historic opportunity for all senators to weigh in on the critical issue of the safety of women in Virginia."

Cobb said she expects the bill to be heard later this week. "We are working overtime," she said.