I encourage you to not fall prey to the political debate around this issue.  Poor women and women in rural communities are effectively being denied their court upheld right to abortion through these unnecessary and politically motivated restrictions.  Abortion is a safe and legal procedure that can be done in outpatient clinic settings and were already subject to safety regulations prior to TRAP regulations; the same standards as are applied to hospitals are not necessary.  These restrictions are designed by political opponents of abortion to drive abortion providers out of business under the pretense of "women's safety."  In fact, women's safety is  at risk by lack of access to safe and legal abortions.  Women's safety is not increased by regulations on the number of number of bathrooms, locker rooms and the width of corridors of the clinic.  I urge you to eliminate these TRAP regulations.

I urge you to eliminate the uneccesary and politically motivated TRAP regulations in Virginia.  Abortion is a safe and legal outpatient procedure which does not require a hospital setting to be safe.  These regulations are a blatant attempt to drive abortion providers out of business and have been successful in doing so. Without clinics that provide these important health services to women, many Virginia women, particlularly the poor and those who live in rural parts of the state are effectively denied their consitituional right to abortion. You do not eliminate abortions by making it difficult for women to obtain safe and legal procedures. We know that inplaces where women have the ability to plan their families poverty rates go down, children recieve better education and famillies flourish.