The TRAP regulations are bad law, bad morality, and bad policy for the people of Virginia.  

Passing these regulations would set a bad precedent for Virginia law.  These laws already passed once- with the grandfather clause to avoid shutting down existing clinics.  The Attorney General's office does not have any legitimate legal authority to bully a supposedly independent agency into passing bad regulations.  As we saw last year, the Attorney General and the Governor are not above bullying and stacking an agency with their people to put their bad politics over women's health.  Allowing them to be passed into law would cost the State Board of Health any shred of legitimacy it still has after the debacle.

TRAP regulations are bad morality.  Pushed through by a vocal few, these regulations violate the free will of Virginia women, and the majority of Virginia voters.  They stand for pushing through a radical right wing social agenda at the cost of women's rights to bodily integrity and autonomy.  These regulations will not save any lives, but they will undoubtedly cost the lives of thousands of Virginia women who will have no access to safe, legal abortion as protected by the Constitution through Roe v. Wade.

TRAP regulations are bad policy.  The stated purpose of the laws is to protect women's health.  First of all, we all know that is a blatant lie.  The true purpose, as made clear by its extremist proponents, is to deny women access to their protected right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.  Shutting down clinics will not prevent abortions, it will just ensure that more women die from unsafe abortions.  Furthermore, the clinics TRAP regulations will shut down actually play the most direct role in preventing abortions by providing women with affordable preventative care.

Even more morally repugnant is the impact these laws will have on poor women.  Despite recent efforts to reform health care access, many Virginians still lack access to basic health care.  Planned Parenthood and other clinics do not just provide abortions.  They also provide access to comprehensive exams, cancer screenings, STD testing, prenatal care, and even adoption services.  Poor women especially rely on the affordable, safe health services offered by these clinics.  Shutting them down with these ludicrous, unconstitutional regulations will hurt poor women the most.

It would be absolutely disgraceful for the TRAP regulations to become Virginia law.  I invite any agency or state employee who has any common sense and human decency to prevent these bad regulations from becoming bad permanent law.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Amy Weiss

Richmond, VA