The past few years have been pretty big for anti-choice legislation and activism, from “personhood” bills to TRAP laws and the major attacks on Planned Parenthood last year during the debates over the budget and government shutdown.
All of these attacks on choice are incredibly dangerous and challenge women’s bodily agency and access to important health care.
In September, the Virginia state legislature and Board of Health, under pressure from the Attorney General’s office, passed TRAP laws that make Virginia the most hostile state towards abortion rights in the nation. This is not a distinction for our state that I particularly appreciate, and it’s really not one that we should strive for.
But there are many questions—what are TRAP laws? What do they do? When will they go into effect? among others, so here’s your Shoutout! Guide to Virginia’s TRAP laws and what you can do to stop anti-choice attacks in Virginia.
What are the TRAP laws?
Targeted Regulations against Abortion Providers, or TRAP laws, intend to do exactly as the name implies: they trap abortion providers into closing with ridiculous and unnecessary regulations that abortion clinics, and only abortion clinics, must follow.
Abortion clinics function very similarly to other outpatient medical facilities. They provide (usually) one surgical service, that is one of the safest in the country. In fact, rates of complications for abortion are at 0.3% (Guttmacher, August 2011), lower than many other types of basic surgeries. So clearly, abortion is a very safe procedure done in very clean, sanitary facilities.
TRAP laws play on the idea of “protecting women’s health” by using scare tactics to imply that abortion clinics are not clean or sanitary and that they need to be regulated to the extreme. But they’re not protecting women’s health, they’re actually seriously undermining women’s abilities to access safe and legal procedures, like abortion. Some clinics even offer cancer screenings, birth control at affordable rates, and STI testing which are necessary services for women.
Essentially, TRAP laws intend to close clinics by imposing ridiculous regulations, down to inane issues like hallway width, and this really highlights what their whole point is. Some TRAP laws require things like, the hallway of your clinic must be X feet, and if a clinic cannot redesign to accommodate that completely unnecessary regulation, they have to close. This completely shuts down any argument that these laws have to do with women’s health at all.
So what are the Virginia TRAP laws requiring?
Given that TRAP laws in Virginia have consistently been rejected by the state legislature, anti-choice advocates in the state senate amended an unrelated health bill (SB 924) to add TRAP laws. Virginia abortion clinics are now classified as having the same status as hospitals, and they must also secure a license to continue practicing.
Prior to this year, TRAP laws had been consistently struck down by the Senate Education and Health Committee because they’re burdensome and harmful to women.
Prior to the passage of the TRAP laws, access to abortion in Virginia was extremely difficult anyway, especially for low-income women. A full 86% of Virginia counties have no access to abortion clinics, whereas 52 ideologically motivated, religious, anti-choice Crisis Pregnancy Centers are operating throughout the state. (For more about CPCs, check out my blog post from a year ago at Trust Women PAC).
Think for a second about being a woman who needs an abortion in a Virginia county where there is no access. To obtain an abortion you would have to travel—have money for a bus, have a car, have a friend who can take off work to go with you. You would need to take a day off of work to make a trip that could be as short as an hour (as if that’s short) or much longer than that. You would have to receive pre-abortion counseling and endure a 24-hour waiting period before you can even have the procedure (Mother Jones, 2011). Clearly, getting an abortion is really difficult, especially if you need money and can’t afford to take time off work.
These TRAP laws just strengthen how anti-choice Virginia really is, and has the potential to close all the abortion clinics in the state.
When do the TRAP laws take effect?
They will take effect on December 31, 2011. This is because the bill that the regulations were attached to said that they must take effect within 280 days, and as of passage, Dec. 31st is the 280th day.
That’s not much time, and there’s another outstanding issue that are making things harder on clinics. Clinics won’t immediately shut down the on Dec. 31, because they have to fill out applications for licensure and plans for building adjustments to fit requirements (for example, the necessary 5 ft. wide hallways, clearly a crucial measure to ensure women’s safety). After they submit the application and building adjustments, clinics have two years to comply.
But here’s the issue: the Board of Health hasn’t even set due dates for applications and compliance plans. They were incredibly vague, and clinics don’t even know when these crucial documents are due. So clinics can be closed in December, or they can be closed later. But the clinics don’t know when this will occur.
Well this is ridiculous, and completely infringes on women’s health care and reproductive rights. What can I do? (Yes, I know this is a leading question).
First thing’s first, here’s an easy one. Sign the petition written by the Virginia Coalition to Protect Women’s health here. The coalition will be delivering signatures from Virginia residents to Governor Bob McDonnell (a major supporter of TRAP laws) to show just how passionate Virginian’s are about women’s health. Please, please, please sign this petition.
Second, rally!!! On Saturday, October 15 at 1 p.m. in Monroe Park in Richmond, the Coalition is having a rally to protest these laws. Your presence can make a difference, this is a very visual reminder to anti-choicers that we will not take this lying down. RSVP here to ensure bus space! And at our facebook event for more information. Also, this is the perfect opportunity to avoid JMU during parent’s weekend without hiding in your dorm or apartment.
And if you think you can’t get there from Harrisonburg…
A bus will be at 150 Wolfe St. in Downtown Harrisonburg at 9:30 a.m. to pick people up for the rally. (The shopping center with Kline’s and the Friendly City Food Co-op). Bus tickets are $10 for students, $15 for adults, but if you can’t pay, email sheila@coalitionforwomenshealth.org about scholarships to cover the bus ticket.
You can also write blogs posts at your personal blog! Make facebook posts, allowing your friends to learn about TRAP laws. Write a letter-to-the editor to your local paper or student paper (the Breeze) so that students can learn more about the laws, and learn why they’re so harmful to women. Be pissed off about this and let people know why. These measures are unacceptable.
Don’t let Virginia politicians play with women’s health. These extreme anti-choice members are incredibly harmful to women, they could drive up clinic costs, and greatly restrict access!
Sources:
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html#12
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/virginia-abortion-building-rules
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