Legislating restrictions on reproductive choice and limiting women's options should not be made through disingenuous legislative hurdles for care providers that do not promote either respect for patient rights or patient safety. Women have, under US law, the right to make personal healthcare choices. This legislation narrows the options for basic healthcare and disrespects women fundamentally by putting obstacles between them and the health choices they have made.
Open access to choice of doctor, location and type of service belongs with the female consumer - not legislator. Just as the Supreme Court has stayed out of the bedroom, so must the Virginia legislature stay out of a woman's right to substantive, available and whole body healthcare. Women's reproductive health is a basic human right.
This pending legislation is more than about physical restrictions. We have moved beyond the condescending and patriarchal mindset that prevented women in previous generationsfrom exercising control over their bodies and their future.
Do not shackle existing options.