To Whom it May Concern,

I was born and raised in Virginia and though I no longer live there, I care deeply about my home state. As such I want to let you know that:

• I support the Board of Health’s decision to amend the medically-unnecessary restrictions designed to close safe, trusted women’s health care centers in Virginia. All Virginia women should have affordable access to safe, legal reproductive health care and I applaud the Board of Health’s decision to stop letting politics drive decisions that affect women’s health.

• The restrictions on women’s health centers in Virginia are about denying access to abortion, period. Three of 21 women’s health centers in Virginia have been forced to close or stop providing abortion services, in part due to these medically-unnecessary restrictions.

• If the restrictions remain unchanged, additional health centers will close – cutting off access to preventative and critical health care for thousands of Virginia women. Now is your chance to fix these restrictions and keep Virginia women’s health centers open.

• We all agree on the importance of ensuring patient health and safety, but the restrictions on women’s health care centers in Virginia don’t do that. Medical experts, including Dr. Karen Remley, the former Virginia Health Commissioner, and the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists oppose these restrictions because it’s clear that the restrictions have nothing to do with patient safety and everything to do with inserting a politician between a woman and her doctor.

Please ammend the restrictions and give Virginian women the quality health care they deserve.

Yours,

Deborah Barolsky