— Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) on Wednesday appointed a former lawmaker and abortion rights advocate to the Board of Health in time for a vote Thursday on whether the commonwealth will begin to overhaul regulations of abortion providers.

The board will decide whether to amend abortion clinic rules, including strict, hospital-style building codes that abortion rights advocates say threaten to shutter many of the state’s remaining clinics and block access to abortion in Virginia.

Groups opposed to abortion say the current rules are needed to ensure safety for women and access for emergency personnel. Some remain optimistic that additional review could lead to strengthened, rather than loosened, restrictions on clinics.

The vote, which would set in motion a lengthy process, represents another chapter in a heated debate over the polarizing issue of abortion in Virginia, where lawmakers have long been divided over whether to erect barriers or increase access to the procedure.

McAuliffe’s appointment of former state senator Mary Margaret Whipple, a 15-year veteran of the General Assembly from Arlington who chaired her chamber’s Democratic caucus, strengthens the contingent likely to vote for the overhaul.

He previously replaced five people on the 15-member health board and at the same time called for an expedited review of the regulations.

Whipple decided not to seek reelection in 2011. At the time, she said it was difficult to announce her decision a day after the Senate agreed, over her objections, to regulate abortion clinics as hospitals — a vote she had told colleagues made her “heartsick.”

“I really feel that it is better to let the medical profession practice medicine than have the legislature practicing medicine,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, said, “It’s no surprise that Governor McAuliffe would appoint someone who is as extreme on abortion as he is.”

After McAuliffe’s call in May for a review, his health commissioner, Marissa Levine, this fall recommended amending the construction and design rules as well as a series of changes to rules affecting drug storage, anesthesia and other medical issues. She said rules concerning parental consent required before an abortion should be clarified as well.

If the board agrees with Levine on Thursday, Health Department staff will begin to rewrite the regulations, which could take many months. When a draft is ready, the Health Department will share it with the board and open another round of public comment.

Advocates on both sides were mobilizing their supporters to flood the meeting Thursday.

The issue has a contentious history in Virginia. In early 2011, the General Assembly voted for, and then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) approved, a law that categorized facilities that perform five or more abortions a month as hospitals.

As a result, the Health Department produced temporary rules imposing strict building standards on all clinics; the rules went into effect Jan. 1, 2012.

In producing a permanent set of rules, the health board voted to grandfather in existing clinics — but in September 2012, it reversed itself after then-Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) told board members that he thought they overstepped their authority and that he would not defend them from potential litigation. The permanent rules took effect in June 2013.

After the initial legislation passed, one clinic stopped offering abortion services. Two others closed their doors last year.

Of the remaining 18 clinics, 13 have sought temporary waivers from the current rules. Twelve of those have been granted waivers, and one request is still under administrative review. Five clinics have said they can comply with the architectural standards as written.