Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and his Senior Assistant have advised VDH and the Board of Health that it has no authority to differentiate between new and existing hospitals when applying new regulations, and therefore does not have the authority to grandfather in existing abortion clinics.

Based on this new information one must conclude the Board of Health NEVER had the authority to grandfather in existing hospitals under new regulations in the past, which it has ALWAYS done including the original regulations for licensure of general hospitals in 1947.  While the absurdity pains me, I must therefore support this petition to amend the Regulations for Licensure of Hospitals in Virginia - Chapter 410 of the Administrative Code - as it conflicts with Virginia Code 32.1-127.00.001. 

The Attorney General’s Office should certainly know that you can’t have selective application of the law.  Either ALL or NONE of the state's hospitals have to meet these standards. If, as they stated, existing hospitals cannot be grandfathered in, then all previous grandfathering was illegal, and ALL hospitals should now meet the currently existing code.  This is unacceptable.  Forcing hospitals who have been safely practicing in their current facilities for year to make unfounded structural changes will put Virginia hospitals out of business, limit access to health care, and increase costs.   However, if existing hospitals CAN be grandfathered in as they have always been, then so can the clinics, which are now defined as hospitals.