The regulations willonly serve as additional financial hurdles to health care for women patients, with no proven medical benefit to patients. Women need more access to affordable, high quality health care, not less.

The regulations placed on women's health centers should be based on evidence-based medical practices that advance the Public Health so that women in the Commonwealth can maintain access to vital health care from trusted medical providers.

Medically inappropriate and unnecessarily burdensome regulations will not advance the purpose of public health. They would restrict access to essential health care services for the women of Virginia and further marginalize young, low-income, uninsured and minority women by decreasing their health care options.

Beverly Waddell