To The Board of Health,

All health care providers should be regulated, but regulations should be based on health care needs, not politics. Targeted Regulations on Abortion Providers have nothing to do with women's health and everything to do with limiting access to safe and legal abortion. This is politics at its worst, and women's access to health care is the price we will pay if you move forward with these regulations.

As currently written, the requirements - specifically the time and resources required to physically alter health centers for no medical reason - are likely to increase financial barriers and hurdles for patients, as well as reduce women's ability to find a health care provider. The current regulations require extensive, medically unnecessary and inappropriate renovations to meet building standrds designed only for new outpatient surgical hospitals, not existing health centers.

Women in Virginia need better access to affordable, high quality healthcare, not politically motivated barriers. Regulations that genuinely protect the health and safety of patients are critical. However, politically motivated barriers to service do nothing but put more women at risk.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments. I trust you will put medicine before politics and reject these onerous and unnecessary regulations.