Dear State Board of Health,

As you consider regulations for abortion clinics I'd like to encourage you to make them as safe as the hospitals that take care of us.  As I considered where to have my surgery in 2013 I was pleased to find a clinic who's rate of infection was less than that of the average hospital.  This gave me confidence that I'd not have to deal with the added complication of infection while trying to recover.  I wonder why we would allow our women to have a surgerical procedure that offered anything less than what is mandated for hospitals.  Are we going to value their protection from infection less than that of what happens at the average hospital? 

I realize that this mandate will be costly, however, is the main concern over cost going to subject these women to lesser standards than the average person receives at our local hospitals and surgical centers?  These clincs made a profit or they would not be in business, why are they not willing to give up some of their profit to protect the women of our communities.  Will you, the State Board of Health, allow a woman's safety to be given away for a few dollars of profit, I think not. 

Your role is to protect the public, allowing clinics to operate with lesser standards than a hospital is a travesty for public health.  I realize that some may say it's not like having an operation at a hospital, I would say that's completely false, it is.  We have a surgical center here in Central VA and they do lesser surgical procedures than the hosptial, would you allow them to operate under less stricter rules than the hospital, would we allow the public to be put at risk for things like Sars, staff infections and more simply because they do less complicated procedures than the hospital, I think not.

I encourage you to not listen to those supporting abortion or those opposing abortion.  As you make your decision do so to protect the safety of the women of Virginia.  If you lower the standards for these clinics you are saying to women that you are not concerned with their safety, which I do not believe you would agree with.

Thank you for reading this and for acting in a manner that will save lives across the Commonwealth of VA.

Respectfully submitted,

Carl Weiser