Oppose attempts to create permanent regulations (re licensure of abortion clinics)
I am writing to strongly oppose both the temporary regulations (re licensure of abortion provider clinics) and efforts to make the same regulations permanent.
All regulations affecting licensure and operation of health clinics should be based on patient needs and grounded in science. The proposed regulations are overly burdensome and unnecessary and have no proven medical benefit. The proposed regulations will only serve to reduce or eliminate access to health care.
All women in Virginia need access to more affordable, high quality health care that meets their needs, not less. The proposed regulations, just as the recently adopted temporary regulations, will create financial burdens on patients, decrease access to health care providers and options and further cement disparities in care by marginalizing young, low-income and uninsured women.
Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures. Rather than improving patient safety, the proposed regulations limit access to a wide range of preventive reproductive health care services provided by women's health clinics, including life-saving cancer screenings, family planning, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment.
The regulation should be based solely on medicine and science and constructed to improve and not impede women’s access to essential health care.
