Board of Health,

My father, Sir David Owen, was the first Secretary General of International Planned Parenthood Federation, so I am well versed in the arguments for the legalized murder of unborn children in the name of "choice." Tragically, I learned from bitter experience that the leaders of the movement to guarantee parents the right to choose to kill their babies are not really interested in womens health but in population control at any price. The fact that you are hurrying to remove the few restrictions in place in Virginia to protect womens health while their babies are murdered is proof that you are numbered among those whose god is population control and who have contempt not only for the "choices" of the millions of unborn women murdered in the womb but for their mothers who murder them under your supervision. May God have mercy upon a state whose leaders show such utter contempt for the dignity of human life! Yours truly, Hugh Owen, Director, and Maria Owen Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation, Mt. Jackson, VA

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. Hugh Owen