A prominent pro-life group says that Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat gubernatorial candidate for Virginia, is trying to avoid taking a stance on the state’s new abortion clinic health regulations. McAuliffe has openly opposed such regulations in the past, even while over 80 health and safety violations have been reported in Virginia’s abortion clinics.
In a recent vote, Virginia’s Board of Health agreed to implement a law requiring abortion facilities “to meet strict, hospital-style building codes.” Women Speak Out Virginia, a political action committee associated with the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List (SBA), asserts that McAuliffe has taken the “extreme position” in the past of opposing the new state health regulations regarding abortion clinics.
The group has funded a $50,000 ad buy targeting pro-abortion McAuliffe.
The ad states:
Just this month, Terry McAuliffe opposed basic health and safety standards for some women’s health clinics that perform abortions. McAuliffe refuses to require women’s health clinics to provide the same sanitary environment we expect of dental offices and hospitals. McAuliffe is bowing to the political pressure from powerful corporations that run women’s health clinics.
According to the Washington Post, McAuliffe spokesman Josh Schwerin issued a press release that accuses pro-life Republican gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, of making abortion “the centerpiece of his campaign.” Schwerin said, “Ken Cuccinelli forced his divisive ideological agenda on Virginian women and it is already having real world ramifications.”
When SBA recently issued a statement describing McAuliffe’s position on abortion as supporting “abortion on-demand at any time, for any reason, paid for by Virginia taxpayers,” including “sex-selective abortion, late-term abortion, partial-birth abortion, and abortions on teenage girls without parental consent,” the Post indicates that Schwerin declined to say whether that description accurately depicted McAuliffe’s position.
In an email to the Post, Schwerin said:
Terry would oppose additional restrictions on women in Virginia making health care decisions. Terry believes the next Governor needs to be focused on mainstream ideas to grow the economy–but he’ll stand with Virginia’s women when their rights are under attack.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president and chairman of the board of SBA, told Breitbart News, “Ken Cuccinelli has defended the new regulations, and not just the width of doorways in clinics.”
Dannenfelser said that unsanitary conditions, including more than 80 violations such as blood-stained equipment and operating tables as well as improper disposal of fetal remains, have been discovered in Virginia’s abortion clinics. These violations are similar to the conditions of the clinic described in the grand jury report and testimony in the Kermit Gosnell murder trial.
Dannenfelser said that McAuliffe’s refusal to take a firm stance in favor of the new regulations shows a lack of courage on his part.
“The abortion industry is a recipe for disaster. It just builds and builds,” she said. “It’s inhuman to unborn children and to the women themselves.”
Dannenfelser also asked, “Where is the advocacy of the abortion industry for women now? Where is the feminist movement’s advocacy for women now?”
“Planned Parenthood has gotten away with just plain lying for awhile–with President Obama even continuing the lie that they provide mammograms during the presidential debate,” Dannenfelser added.
Dannenfelser said that the trial of Kermit Gosnell and exposure of clinics similar to his demonstrates the real truth of the state of women’s health in the abortion industry.
“It’s time to acknowledge the truth, and speak it openly,” Dannenfelser said.
Breitbart News contacted the McAuliffe campaign for comment but received no response.
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