(Adds Board of Health vote, details, background)
By Gary Robertson
RICHMOND, Va., April 12 (Reuters) - The Virginia Board of Health voted on Friday to require abortion clinics to meet stricter hospital-style standards, part of a push in a number of states to tighten abortion restrictions.
Supporters of the new standards burst into applause after the panel's 11-2 vote. Shouts of "shame" erupted from opponents of the move, who contend the new standards could force abortion clinics to close.
Board Chairman Bruce Edwards ordered police to clear the hearing room.
The new standards could force abortion providers to undertake potentially costly renovations, such as widening hallways and installing new ventilation systems and awnings.
Republican Governor Robert McDonnell approved health regulations in December imposing hospital-style building codes on abortion clinics. The Board of Health had the final word on the changes.
Cianti Stewart-Reid, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Virginia, said during a break in the board meeting that the new requirements were unnecessary and expensive. Virginia has 20 abortion clinics.
"There is the potential that some health providers won't be able to meet those requirements and will have to close as a result," she told Reuters.
The board voted last year to exempt existing clinics from the changes. It reversed itself in September after Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Tea Party Republican running for governor, warned that his office would not defend the board against lawsuits arising from such a decision.
The board's Friday vote is the latest blow to abortion providers around the country. This week the Republican-led Arkansas Senate voted to bar state funds from going to any entity that provides abortions.
Similar measures have passed in other states, including Indiana, New Jersey and Texas. In the most restrictive anti-abortion action to date, North Dakota last month banned most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Legal experts have questioned whether that measure or a post-12-week ban would survive court challenges.
Seven states, including Mississippi and Alabama, require hospital admitting privileges for abortion providers. Critics say the laws restrict a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.
Virginia's General Assembly last week approved McDonnell's plan that blocks private insurance plans being sold through the new health benefits exchange from including abortion coverage. The exchanges are set up under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Virginia's legislature drew national attention last year with a bill signed by McDonnell that required an ultrasound procedure before an abortion.
A requirement for an invasive vaginal probe in some cases was removed from the measure after it drew national debate and was lampooned by late-night television comics. (Reporting by Ian Simpson and Gary Robertson; editing by Andrew Hay, Cynthia Johnston and John Wallace)
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