To the Virginia Board of Health:

I'm writing to ask you to amend the proposed permanent regulations to ensure the continued availability of safe, legal, first-trimester abortions and preventive reproductive health care throughout Virginia. The proposed regulations are overly burdensome and unnecessary. They have no proven medical benefit and will serve only to reduce or eliminate patient access to health care. Women in Virginia need more access to affordable, high-quality health care, not less. The regulations will increase the financial burden on patients and decrease patients' health care options, thereby marginalizing young, low-income, and uninsured women. Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures. Instead of improving safety, these regulations will limit access to a wide range of preventive reproductive health care services provided by women's health clinics, including life-saving cancer screenings, family planning, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. The regulations should be based solely on medicine and science and should not impede women's access to essential health care.

Thank you for accepting public comments on this matter. I trust you'll do what's best to uphold women's access to safe, affordable, high-quality health care in Virginia.

Courtney Chiaparas

Arlington, Virginia