As a lifelong Virginia woman and women's health provider, I am so saddened by efforts to put women in the Commonwealth at risk becasue of unnecessary regulations. We have a system that is working to provide education, contraception and pregnancy care as well as abortions when chosen as part of an informed decision making process with a licensed health care provider. I am pro family and pro choice, recognizing that a woman's right to have control over her body and reproductive health is critical and is a right that individuals have fought long and hard to achieve. The care given is not unsafe or unethical. It is a fact that abortion is one of the most common and safe of medical procedures. Perhaps this is a sad statement but it is true and if we are to reduce the number of abortions, it needs to be done with access to care for patient education, informed decision making and contraception.

Ethically, these regulations violate patient confidentiality by allowing Department of Health employees to review a wide variety of records, with no protections for patient confidentiality, or provider and patient safety.

The current temporary regulations are unnecessarily burdensome and medically inappropriate. Regulations for women’s health centers should be based on evidence-based medical practices that advance the public health, not on political or religious views. This is the standard of care in our state and nation for all citizens and all medical care. This should not be compromised for religious reasons. This is why we have separation of church and state. Thank you for this opportunity to express my concerns and for your willingness to honestly and logically consider them.