I ask the Board of Health to amend Title 12, Agency 5, Chapter 412, Regulations for Licensure of Abortion Facilities. 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.

As on OB/GYN physician who cares about the health and safety of women, I strongly urge the board to amend the regulations. If these regulations were really based on science, then all outpatient clinics including those for dermatology and plastic surgery would be held to the same standards, but they are not. It is clearly an attempt to limit women's access to safe care.