While people are still trying to drive women back into the days of old where they would have to get risky illegal abortions underground; there is no need to do so today. Peoples' personal beliefs or more commonly their religious beliefs have no standing in the federal government. They can believe what they will, but they cannot add it to legislature to be passed federally; whether via state of national level.

Trying to shut down abortion clinics here in Virginia is a massive mistake. Not only will this lead to riskier abortions, which will no doubt become an underground in and of itself in VA due to lack of safe abortion procedures, it would also force women to go all the way to MD for an abortion. Either way, you will not be stopping abortions. Just making it riskier and more bothersome to end one that is unwanted.

Instead of trying to force abortion to be illegal, which it isn't, you should focus on more sex education in classrooms and colleges; including condom use as well as other topics we seem to skip out on, such as masturbation, toys, consent, and other non-heterosexual information. Do we ever need consent being taught in schools.

With 1 in every 5 women getting assaulted in college and otherwise consent should be a top priority to be added to academia settings, but getting back to the main topic. If you want less abortions, make protection and pregnancy prevention methods, plus aids more and readily accessible. The easier it is to obtain these methods; such as condoms, the pills, and other devices, the less abortions there will have to be. You cannot have both. You cannot police peoples' bodies either. So, if you want less abortions then start a state to national wide campaign for abortion prevention. Abstinence is not going to stop anyone from having sex. It is a joke and a main case we have so many unwanted pregnancies. If people get taught about safe consensual safe and procedures in how to use pregnancy prevention there will be a lot less abortions required.

You also have to take into account the cases of incest and/or rape. No one should have to have a pregnancy they do not want; especially after being assaulted or having a potential child that may very well die or be inbred due to closely linked genetics.

We should focus on children that actually exist and make sure that they get vaccinated to prevent measles and mumps from spreading; instead of wasting time trying to pass laws that are out of date, unnecessary, and adherently sexist.

Let the person carrying a fetus decide what to do with their life. Their body, not yours. And please, do keep in mind married couples have abortions as well. Not everyone wants and/or can afford children. This isn't just a teen, unmarried, or rape issue.

Thank you for your time,
— Petri