The Virginia Board of Health is conducting another public hearing Tuesday on new abortion clinic regulations.
This is the second round of public comment on the regulations. They 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.
The board conducted two public hearings on the regulations last year. After the second hearing, the board reversed an earlier decision and voted 13-2 to tentatively approve regulations that do not exempt existing clinics from the building standards.
A final vote is expected later this year.
