I believe that the proposed regulation of clinics providing abortion facilities should not be passed as it stands. It seems to me it is a political tactic rather than a way of protecting women. In fact, it will cut some women off from reproductive health care, those who are young, poor and uninsured.

Why? Because the cost to clinics to make their facilities meet the new standard will be too high; they will either go out of business or raise their fees beyond the reach of many women. Some elected representatives in Virginia want that to happen; they want these clinics to go out of business. They are attacking abortion under the guise of protecting women's health.

Along with making abortion less accessible, however, the proposed regulation will make a broad range of reproductive health care unavailable to women. The services made unavailable include life-saving cancer screenings, family planning guidance, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted disease. Public health principles are actually being compromised by the planned regulation.

I sincerely hope that the legislators will do the right thing and prevent the passage of a regulation which will make women's reproductive health care, including safe and legal first trimester abortion, unavailable to many citizens in Virginia.