We write to express our support of the Board of Health’s decision to amend the regulations governing first-trimester abortion providers and urge the Board to promulgate reasonable, evidence-based regulations, particularly with respect to the physical plant requirements.

The Center for Reproductive Rights is a non-profit legal advocacy organization. In the United States, we have litigated cases in federal and state courts to ensure that governments at all levels do not infringe upon the constitutionally-protected right of women to decide whether and when to bear children. We have successfully litigated several cases to prevent governments from imposing medically inappropriate regulations on abortion providers to the detriment of women seeking abortion care.

The regulations’ imposition of excessive building standards on first-trimester abortion providers was the result of political and ideological interference in the regulatory process, and is contrary to sound medical and scientific evidence.

For this and other reasons, the Center has serious concerns about the constitutionality of this provision. Under current Supreme Court precedent, states may constitutionally regulate facilities that provide abortion care only to the extent that such regulation does not unduly burden a woman’s ability to obtain an abortion.

As the Supreme Court has made clear, such regulation is only permissible to the extent it is justified by medical evidence. Without medical justification, the Supreme Court has rejected excessive regulations on abortion providers as unconstitutional.

While the Board has both the authority and the obligation to enact regulations that promote the public health and are consistent with medical evidence, the Board simply does not have the authority to promulgate regulations for abortion providers that violate the U.S. Constitution.

We applaud the Board’s decision to amend the regulations, and moving forward, we encourage the Board to promulgate regulations that are in line with both constitutional requirements and sound medical evidence. 

Amanda Allen

State Legislative Counsel

Center for Reproductive Rights