ROANOKE CO., Va. – The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday, where they discussed a proposed zoning change that could restrict where abortion clinics operate in the county.
The county’s planning commission will now study the issue and make recommendations to the board. The study will examine whether to change the county’s zoning rules to control the locations of abortion clinics.
Megan, a lifetime Roanoke County resident, expressed strong opposition during the meeting, saying, “Instead of letting the people of Roanoke County vote on this where it would likely meet greater opposition, this board and this attorney are pulling backdoor levers to let a handful of people impose their religious or other views on tens of thousands of women.”
David Radford, vice chairman of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, defended the proposal, stating, “If we don’t address it in the matter of zoning, you could have these abortion clinics pop up like vape shops. They could move into a strip center, and we want to direct where they’re going to be.”
Megan urged the board to reconsider the study, saying, “The wise choice, in my opinion, of this board, is to end this here and now, rescind the approval of the proposal or halt the study.”
Radford explained the reasoning behind considering the zoning ordinance, saying, “There’s an amendment that’s gonna be coming on the ballot in November, HJ1 called Reproductive Freedom Amendment and basically, if it passes in November, it has no guardrails.”
At this stage, the board is only asking the planning commission to study the issue. Additional public hearings will be held to allow residents to share their opinions before any final decisions are made.
10 News will continue to provide updates as hearing dates are scheduled.