Anti-abortion advocates are urging the state Board of Health to borrow from South Carolina's strict rules governing abortion clinics when it composes Virginia's regulations this summer.

Legislators passed a law this winter directing the board to approve regulations for abortion clinics that will be similar to those that govern hospitals. The state Health Department will present its proposed regulations to the board in September, and they are expected to take effect by the first of the year.

State health officials said Thursday they were examining 22 other states that regulate abortion clinics.

During public comment during the board's meeting, anti-abortion advocates pleaded with members to model Virginia's regulations after South Carolina's, which have withstood a court challenge.

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