--- title: Abortion: Virginia Governor McAuliffe Aims to Undo Strict Regulations description: The state’s Democratic governor follows up on a campaign promise made last year to loosen strict regulations levied against abortion clinics canonical: https://time.com/97181/virginia-governor-mcauliffe-abortion-regulations/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-13T09:10:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:47:56.641Z article:section: Politics og:title: Abortion: Virginia Governor McAuliffe Aims to Undo Strict Regulations og:description: The state’s Democratic governor follows up on a campaign promise made last year to loosen strict regulations levied against abortion clinics og:url: https://time.com/97181/virginia-governor-mcauliffe-abortion-regulations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e691c09a9fcf412/69868f0706f2c18c9732ed80/governor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Terry McAuliffe og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Abortion: Virginia Governor McAuliffe Aims to Undo Strict Regulations twitter:description: The state’s Democratic governor follows up on a campaign promise made last year to loosen strict regulations levied against abortion clinics twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e691c09a9fcf412/69868f0706f2c18c9732ed80/governor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Virginia’s Governor Challenges Abortion Clinic Regulations > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout May 13, 2014 9:10 AM UTC  Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signs SB260, mental-health-reform legislation, at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va., on April 28, 2014 Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signs SB260, mental-health-reform legislation, at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va., on April 28, 2014 Ryan M. Kelly—AP by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout May 13, 2014 9:10 AM UTC Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has called for [a formal review](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/12/us-usa-abortion-virginia-idUSBREA4B0UV20140512) of the strict state health regulations levied against abortion clinics that he said were both “extreme and punitive.” The review ordered on Monday in Richmond, Va., could give the state’s health board an opportunity to undo the stringent codes implemented by Virginia’s previous Republican administration in 2013\. Those rules were responsible for closing five of the state’s 23 abortion clinics. “I am concerned that the extreme and punitive regulations adopted last year jeopardize the ability of most women’s health centers to keep their doors open and place in jeopardy the health and reproductive rights of Virginia women,” [said McAuliffe](https://governor.virginia.gov/news/newsarticle?articleId=4807). Governor McAuliffe also appointed five new members to the health board, which harbors prochoice leanings, according to the [Washington](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcauliffe-calls-for-review-of-abortion-clinic-regulations/2014/05/12/ec723fac-d9e1-11e3-8009-71de85b9c527%5Fstory.html)[ _Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcauliffe-calls-for-review-of-abortion-clinic-regulations/2014/05/12/ec723fac-d9e1-11e3-8009-71de85b9c527%5Fstory.html). Conservative advocacy groups blasted the governor’s moves and labeled McAuliffe’s actions as “political payback” to lobbyists. “The governor’s blatant politicization of a public health issue is one more example of his lack of concern for the women of Virginia,” wrote Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, in a [statement released](http://familyfoundation.org/2014/05/family-foundation-questions-mcauliffe-attack-abortion-center-regulations-required-by-law/) on Monday. Governor McAuliffe has frequently pledged to stand like a “brick wall” against laws that would undercut women’s rights to abortions in the state. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/97181/virginia-governor-mcauliffe-abortion-regulations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/97181/virginia-governor-mcauliffe-abortion-regulations/"},"headline":"Virginia’s Governor Challenges Abortion Clinic Regulations","datePublished":"2014-05-13T09:10:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:47:56.641Z","description":"Terry McAuliffe has called for a formal review of the strict state health regulations levied against abortion clinics, following up on a campaign promise he made last year to undo the stringent codes responsible for closing five of the state's 23 clinics","url":"https://time.com/97181/virginia-governor-mcauliffe-abortion-regulations/","keywords":["States","abortion","Virginia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e691c09a9fcf412/69868f0706f2c18c9732ed80/governor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e691c09a9fcf412/69868f0706f2c18c9732ed80/governor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Terry McAuliffe","caption":"Terry McAuliffe","creditText":"Ryan M. 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