I am writing about the new targeted regulations (also known as TRAP regulations) for women’s health centers in Virginia. If approved as written, these unnecessary and burdensome regulations could force the majority of Virginia’s women’s health centers to shut their doors, and could leave thousands of women without access to essential reproductive care.

These politically motivated  regulations threaten the continued availability of safe, legal first-trimester abortion and preventive reproductive health care in multiple locations throughout the state.  It is wrong to place politics above the health needs of women. Extensive, burdensome requirements for clinic buildings that are unrelated to the services health centers provide and have no proven medical benefit will reduce or eliminate patient access to health care.

The regulations will increase the financial hurdles to health care for patients, with no proven medical benefit to patients. Women need more access to affordable, high quality health care, not less.

Medically inappropriate and unnecessarily burdensome regulations would restrict access to essential health care services for the women of Virginia and further marginalize young, low-income, uninsured and minority women by decreasing their health care options.

The high standard of care provided by women's health centers is proven by their impressive safety record. Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures. Overregulation will limit access to a wide range of preventive reproductive health care services provided by women's health clinics, including life-saving cancer screenings, family planning, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. 

The regulations should be amended to be based purely on medicine and science and should not impede women's access to essential health care.