Bob will sign. (Photo: Associated Press)

Today, the Virginia state senate was faced with a decision on whether to effectively shut down 17 out of the state's 21 abortion providers. This afternoon, the state's senators reached a tie on the bill that would ramp up regulations on the state's abortion clinics, relegating the extremely common, low-risk procedure to costly hospital facilities. Lt. Governor Bill Bolling broke the tie in favor of the bill, and Gov. Bob McDonnell has said he would sign it. Before the vote, Virginia was one of 25 U.S. states that restricted some later abortions to highly-regulated hospital facilities. Soon, the state will be the first in the country to impose those restrictions on first-trimester abortions.