Va. board conducts hearing on abortion clinic regs

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — More than two dozen people have testified at the latest in a series of public hearings on Virginia's new abortion clinic regulations.

The State Board of Health conducted the hearing Thursday. Another is set for Tuesday in Alexandria.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/Z34weU ) that former state Health Commissioner Karen Remley was among those who testified. Remley resigned in October over the regulations, which have drawn the ire of abortion-rights supporters by requiring existing clinics to meet the same strict building standards as newly constructed hospitals. Critics say those standards could force most of the state's 20 existing clinics to close.

A final vote on the regulations is set for later this year.