I ask the Board of Health to amend Title 12, Agency 5, Chapter 412, Regulations for Licensure of Abortion Facilities. These regulations are too extreme for Virginia, and show callous disregard for the health of Virginia women. As currently written, the regulations are medically unsound, inappropriate for offices in which first trimester abortion is performed, and undergirded by politics, not science. The Board of Health rightly undertook this process to amend the regulations of abortion facilities. It is now the responsibility of the Board to ensure that amendments to the regulations reflect sound science, medical best practices, and the realities of the incredibly safe first trimester abortion procedure. Anything less than this is playing politics with women’s health, and betrays the mission and responsibility with which your Board is charged. Thank you.