As a citizen and voter of Virginia, I'm writing to ask you to amend the proposed permanent regulations on reproductive freedom in Virginia to ensure the continued availability of safe, legal first-trimester abortions and preventive reproductive healthcare.

The current proposed regulations are burdensome, unnecessary and have no proven medical benefit. They only serve to reduce or eliminate patient access to healthcare, which hurts the most vulnerable citizens in our state the most .

Women in Virginia need more access to affordable, high quality healthcare, not less. The regulations will increase the financial burden on patients thereby marginalizing young, low-income, and uninsured women.

By design or as a by-product, these regulations will limit access to a wide range of preventive services provided by women's health clinics, including life-saving cancer screenings, family planning, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment.

You're doing a disservice to all women in the state of Virginia by not amending the proposed regulations. I hope you'll take this opportunity to ensure we don't lose critical healthcare in Virginia.

Melissa Ford

1706 Asoleado Ln

Vienna, VA 22182