The proposed changes for section 12VAC5-412-130 entitled “Violation of this chapter or applicable law; denial, revocation, or suspension of license” replaces violations applicable throughout all of Article 1, Chapter 5 of Title 32.1 in the Code with only a few of the sections listed therein; namely,  § 32.1-125.01, 32.1-125.4, 32.1-132, 32.1-135.2, or 32.1-137.01. Thus, a number of important sections related to patient safety and care are rendered inapplicable for the purpose of denying or suspending the licenses of abortion clinics who may ignore all of those requirements. In essence, it’s a “free pass” – a signal to abortion clinics that there is no need to comply with the law because there will be no consequences for violating them.

Among the Code sections omitted by the proposed changes are the following:   

-          § 32.1-125.2. Disclosure of other providers of services.

-          § 32.1-125.5. Confidentiality of complainant's identity.

-          § 32.1-127.1:01. Record storage.

-          § 32.1-127.1:03. Health records privacy.

-          § 32.1-127.1:05. Breach of medical information notification.

-          § 32.1-133. Display of license.

-          § 32.1-137.02. Hospital discharge procedures.

-          § 32.1-137.03. Discharge planning; designation of individual to provide care.

-          § 32.1-137.04. Patient notice of observation or outpatient status.

To be sure, even though this proposed change does not give abortion clinics explicit permission to ignore these and other laws, telling them that the Department of Health won’t do anything if they do is effectively the same thing. Considering that nearly all of the newly omitted Code sections proscribe basic requirements for ensuring and protecting patient records, confidentiality, awareness, and care, it simply cannot be that this omission “protect[s] the health and safety of patients of these facilities to a higher degree” – the stated purpose of the proposed amendments.  

Abortion center physicians should be held accountable for the whole law regarding patient care, and not merely a “cherry-picked” few, as this proposal attempts to do. Patients should be able to reasonably expect that their records will be safely handled and that they will be told about how to properly care for themselves upon discharge. If the proposed changes are allowed to take effect, women who use these clinics can feel much less certain of that.

I urge the Board of Health to reject this amendment and refuse to signal to abortion providers that when it comes to ensuring compliance with many laws related to basic patient care, they can count on the Department to look the other way.