Over the past forty years, i have counseled with hundreds considering abortion. Each one of these women was doing her best to make a responsible choice in her unique circumstances. Any laws either designed to or having the effect of making safe abortion less accessible or illegal are crimes against women and their families. These laws affect the ability of mothers to make good choices for their families; the economic stability of families; and the ability of women's health care providers that are small businesses to care for their patients and surive financially. They deny women's most basic human rights. Any pretense that these laws are deisgned to protect women's health is shown false by the simple fact that making safe abortion illegal or inaccessible clearly leads to illegal abortion. All over the planet, illegal abortion leads to preventable deaths and medical complications for millions of women. It is almost unimaginable that the state of Virginia will participate in these crimes against women and their families. I urge you to reconsider and to examine the many ways these laws will harm women and the children who depend on them.