These regulations threaten the continued availability of safe, legal first-trimester abortion and preventive reproductive health care in multiple locations throughout the state.  Worse, they are a thinly veiled attack on abortion.  There is no evidence that these regulations are necessary to protect patients; in fact, abortions are very safe medical procedures.  Rather, the regulations are extensive, burdensome bureaucratic requirements for clinic buildings that are unrelated to the services health centers provide.  They have no proven medical benefit and will reduce or eliminate patient access to health care.  Without the proposed regulations, abortion clinics are subject to existing regulations for outpatient facilities.  Since abortion is an outpatient procedure -- requiring less than 4 hours of recovery -- this is appropriate. 

Overregulation 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.  Women in Virginia deserve more access to affordable, high quality health care, not less.

I do not support these regulations.  Please don't restrict access to abortion.