RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal trial is coming to an end in a lawsuit challenging four Virginia abortion laws that women’s health groups say are overly restrictive and limit access to abortion in the state.
The case is one of more than a dozen lawsuits filed around the country seeking to lift restrictions on abortion clinics at a time when some states are passing tough new anti-abortion laws, including Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio and Kentucky.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs and the state are scheduled to give their closing arguments to Judge Henry Hudson on Thursday in federal court in Richmond. Hudson will decide the case instead of a jury.
The Virginia laws being challenged include a physician-only measure that bars nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants from performing abortions.
