Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli insisted on over reaching his authority by demanding that Board Of Health members remove the grandfather clause from their recommendations to allow existing Women's clinics to remain open and not have to adhere to the newly imposed architechtural guidelines.  The Board of Health had previously made their decision to grandfather in existing clinics.  Their decision was based on public outcry and on testimony by doctors and medical professionals.  Ken Cuccinelli stripped the grandfather clause from the BOH's recommendations and pressured them to vote his way.  Since that overreach of power, Karen Remley, the Commissioner of the BOH, was forced to resign her position as she could no longer face the bullying by Ken Cuccinellit and his minions.

I was present at the first BOH meeting and offered my own opinion at that time.  I heard doctors, lawyers and medical professionals assert that these particular regulations were nothing more than an attempt to shut down abortion clinics.  In addition to abortion procedures, many of these women's clinics provide preventative care to underserved women who do not have access to health insurance or other medical care.  Why would the State of Virginia persecute the poor women of Virginia?  Why would the State of Virginia, who insists they are pro-business, want to shut down tax paying businesses? 

I listened to a urologist speak before the BOH and tell them about his practice.  He explained how many of the procedures in his office are far more invasive than an abortion procedure, yet he is not faced with strict guidelines at his practice.  The fact remains that these new restrictions are not about safety, they are about the moral and religious convictions of one man, Ken Cuccinelli, who has decided that his view will be the law of the land.  There have been no instances of emergencies or deaths stemming from unsafe practicies of abortion clinics in our State.

Ken Cuccinelli is wrong to bring more suffering to the women of Virginia.  Women in Virginia are capable of making our own choices about our own bodies.  We don't need the State or Federal government to do this for us.  If you really want to protect women, why not work on enforcing rape laws and providing women with the necessary tools they need to keep themselves safe from stalkers, rapists,  violence, and abuse.  Making abortion inaccessible to women DOES NOT make abortion go away, it only makes women less safe.