The question is WHO DECIDES? Does the government control motherhood? Does a women become a lesser person and lose control of her own body and her future when she becomes pregnant? Or does a pregnant person retain the autonomy and self determination to control her body, her medical decisions, and her life? 

The Virginia State Board of Health is seeking comments on amending 12VAC5-412, Regulations for Licensure of Abortion Facilities.[1]

Questions[2]to address: Is the regulation (i) necessary for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare? Does the regulation (ii) minimize the economic impact on small businesses consistent with the stated objectives of applicable law? (iii) is it clearly written and easily understandable. 

As the regulations are written the answer is NO to each of these questions.

In June 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed: “Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider Laws do little or nothing for health, but rather strew impediments to abortion, <and> cannot survive judicial inspection[3].”

Why is Abortion healthcare in Virginia regulated differently from other similar risk-profile procedures? There is no medical benefit or explanation.[4]

Why regulate dedicated abortion facilities where skilled clinicians perform more procedures rather than a clinician who rarely does the procedure? Medical procedures done at high-volume, dedicated centers are known for superior safety profiles[5]. A heart transplant by a surgical team that does one each year is riskier than a team that does one each week.  

TRAP Laws provide no protection of public health, safety, and welfare beyond the standards and recommendations established by the peer-reviewed, evidence-based, regularly-updated, and widely respected Clinical Policy Guidelines[6]by the National Abortion Federation… or current Virginia Department of Health’s regulations for medical practitioners, procedures, and facilities. Additional or separate regulations for abortion are detrimental to Virginia’s Public Health, small businesses, and individual Virginians.

Wider halls, janitorial space, reporting requirements on patients, procedures and employees do not improve women’s health. These unnecessary, counter-productive and unjustifiable regulations harass abortion providers by demanding absurd paperwork, expensive and worthless facility requirements, and waiting periods for patients - substantially and negatively impacting small business and the health and economics of the Virginia women we serve.

The Board of Health must immediately amend health center restrictions to comply with Supreme Court precedent and the U.S. Constitution. All abortion providers and facilities regulations are already adequately regulated by Virginia’s Department of Health within regulations for usual medical practices.  

Chapter 412. Regulations for Licensure of Abortion Facilities is an entirely unnecessary, prejudicial, and unconstitutional section of Virginia code.  

Chapter 412 should be immediately eliminated. 

Chapter 412is (i) UNnecessary for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare. 

Chapter 412(ii) maximizes NEGATIVE economic impact on small businesses. 

Chapter 412(iii) is verbose, unwieldy, arbitrary, and impossible to justify for Virginian’s Public Health or individual Virginians.