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As Virginia (a.k.a the state that almost forced women to be penetrated for no reason) moves to effectively make abortions nearly impossible to obtain, pro-choice advocates believe Fairfax County just passed its own measure to limit access to the procedure.

As the Post reported, the Fairfax City Council voted last night to create the new term “medical care facilities” in its zoning law. These facilities must “obtain a special use permit” that costs $4,800 and requires approval from the council.

Not included in the definition of medical care facility? A physician’s or dentist’s office. Rather, abortion clinics will now be treated as a hospital, urgent care facility or surgical center.

Instrumental in the zoning change was Councilmember Steven Stombres, who is also the chief of staff to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). Cantor has voted for many anti-abortion measures.

Seventeen people, including pro-choice representatives, attended last night’s council meeting to object to the new ordinance, according to the Post.

“While the wording remains vague, it is absolutely clear that this ordinance could be used as a back-door means of blocking access to reproductive health care,” Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, said in a statement. “Women’s health centers that provide first-trimester abortion care—a service that’s minimally invasive, common, and safe—should be treated like any other physician’s offices providing services such as dentistry, oral surgery, and colonoscopies. Instead, this ordinance singles out women’s health centers for an onerous, expensive, and arbitrary approval process. Thanks to the votes of four city council members, it will now be incredibly difficult for a women’s health center to open and operate within Fairfax City.”

Fairfax only has one facility that provides abortions and it is in the process of relocating to meet new state standards.

Here, via the Guttmacher Institute, are the restrictions Virginia women must face before obtaining an abortion:

• A woman must receive state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage her from having an abortion and then wait 24 hours before the procedure is provided.
• Health plans that will be offered in the state’s health exchange that will be established under the federal health care reform law can only cover abortion in cases when the woman’s life is endangered, rape or incest.
• Abortion is covered in insurance policies for public employees only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest or fetal impairment
• The parent of a minor must consent and be notified before an abortion is provided.
• Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape, incest or fetal impairment.
• A woman must undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion; the provider must offer her the option to view the image. If the woman lives within 100 miles of the abortion provider she must obtain the ultrasound at least 24 hours before the abortion.

While pro-choice groups may have seen the vote as about abortion, Fairfax Mayor Scott Silverthorne strongly disagreed. “I don’t appreciate some of the outside groups here tonight, such as NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League of Virginia), parachuting into my community and spreading misinformation. I’ve seen the emails, and I’ve had to call several reporters and television reporters to address them,” Silverthorne said, according to Fairfax City Patch. “This vote is not about abortion.”