Board of Health,

Safety regulations must always balance the increased safety against the increased cost in time, difficulty, and expense in carrying them out.In this case, the currently mandated Abortion Center Health and Safety Regulations do not represent "the strongest possible", but a bare minimum. That Abortion Centers should be safe and clean should not be contested by anyone. Implements should be sterile. Drugs should be administered responsibly. Doctors performing surgery should have admitting rights at a nearby hospital should anything go wrong. Doorways should be wide enough to allow stretchers to pass.

Dear Members of the Board of Health,

The decision to issue a NOIRA on the abortion center regulations at your December 4, 2014 meeting is premature and unnecessary. The strongest possible abortion center regulations are essential for the health and safety of Virginia women and must be maintained. Health department inspectors have uncovered hundreds of health and safety violations. These violations include improper hand washing procedures and blood splatter on instruments and examination tables and abortions on minors without documented informed consent. Recent inspections also revealed significant abuse as an abortion center recorded an incredibly high number of complications from attempted chemical abortions with RU-486. The abortion industry has fought regulation for years, yet repeatedly independent inspectors find serious deficiencies, even during announced inspections. Abortion centers are not able to self-regulate. Abortion is not healthcare because it ends lives instead of healing them. However, since abortion operates within the healthcare system, abortion centers must adhere to the regulatory standards of other healthcare facilities. Simply, Virginia women deserve nothing less. Thank you for considering my perspective on this important matter.

Im not sure why this is being reviewed after only two years, but Im sure theres nothing nefarious behind this abnormality and I am confident that you will make the right choice to keep women safe and healthy. Dan