RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The House of Delegates has passed legislation that would subject abortion clinics to the same licensing and regulation as outpatient surgery centers.

Republican Delegate Matt Lohr's bill cleared the House on a 60-37 vote Tuesday, largely on party lines with majority Republicans backing it.

It now heads to the Senate where similar bills have died in recent years even when Republicans were in control. This year, it's even more likely to die with Democrats newly in charge.

Abortion rights advocates argue that the bill is a backdoor effort to make abortions difficult or impossible to get because few clinics can meet the bill's requirements.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)