Board of Health,

Id like to ask you to consider the common sense necessity of regulating and inspecting abortion centers to protect the health of women by making sure the clinics adhere to standard surgical and hospital standards when performing invasive medical procedures on patients. Any time a person has any kind of medical procedure they sign an informed consent and assume that the facility performing the procedure will be inspected, sterile, up to standards and that if a medical emergency were to arrive, that hallways would be equipped to accommodate a gurney to transport a patient to a hospital in an emergency. Protect womens lives by making it mandatory for abortion clinics to follow common sense safety procedures. Anything short of this is abuse - plain and simple.

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. Josephine Balsamo