I  adamantly oppose these regulations because they are about advancing the political and religious views of a vocal minority, rather than forwarding improved healthcare for the women of Virginia.  If this were a matter of guarding the health of Virginians, then retroactive application of these architectural requirements would be required of every facility that provides an  invasive outpatient procedure such as oral surgery or a colonoscopy, instead of first term abortions which are among the safest and most commonly provided medical procedure provided in  this country.

            I personally consider every abortion a tragedy, a decision made when there are no good choices.  But there are other greater tragedies, such as marriages that crumble in the face of the demands of a severely handicapped child or stress of too many children with too few resources.  If the Commonwealth of Virginia wishes reduce the number of Virginian women seeking abortions then the Board should be working with the Legislature and Governor to see that every woman and man in Virginia receives factual education on pregnancy prevention techniques and has access to affordable birth control methods.  This is especially true for lower income Virginians; after all, the way most middle class families remain middle class is  by limiting the number of children they need to support.

            I cannot help but think of a former neighbor.  She had adamantly opposed abortion facilities -- until it was her 16 year old daughter who was standing in front of her and saying "Mom, I'm pregnant."  As she put it, she felt she and her daughter needed to discuss every option and she was relieved in discussing abortion, that it was a safe option. This legislation is an attempt to inject the government in a painful private decision that should be left strictly to those most intimately involved by severely reducing availability of health care facilities that do abortions.  I ask the Board to oppose retroactive imposition of these regulations on existing clinics.