Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read my comment. I am requesting a response to this message. Please repeal and rewrite our clinic regulations. I am a former clinic worker and current MSW living in Richmond. In the two years I worked at a clinic here in VA, I had the privilege of assisting thousands of women through two-three minute long abortion procedures. I started out as a hand-holder, coaching women in a breathing technique to help keep them relaxed and feel supported. I quickly became a figure patients felt comfortable talking and sharing with. What made me the most upset was how nervous the outside world made these women and how relieved they were when they found out how easy, safe, and unscary an abortion is. You see, abortion may not be your particular choice, but for others, it is the only responsible choice to make. Ask yourself this--why do you think a woman would choose to have an abortion? As a woman with faith, I do not believe people are inherently bad or evil. Yet, one out of three women have an abortion in the US, which, if you think about it, should really make you ask: what environments cause women to not feel safe or supported with a child? There's a lot of them in this country, and until we fix this bigger issue, abortion will continue to be a widely used method of family planning. Equally important, not everyone wants to have children, and it's a bit too convenient for critics to blame women after they are pregnant. Abortion is a right, not a privilege, not a taboo topic, but a part of the human experience. Did you know miscarriages are medically called spontaneous abortions? 

The current regulations are a hoax. Shut clinics down because they are medically unsafe, not becuase they can't afford a bigger janitor closet or a USPS parking spot. Draft regulations from the expert medical opinions you requested and gathered. Request more information from people actually in medical care. Reach out to clinic workers---do this right, honest, justly.

Finally, I would like to point out that as of 10:30am on June 19th, 320 out of 475 public comments are the exact same paragraph copied and pasted over and over again. Additionally, these comments were also mysteriously submitted extremely ordered, most one minute after the other. We can all agree that things like public comment leaving events or automated messaging hosted by advocate groups do not make up the majority opinion. Instead, we see a small group of people making a lot more noise than they could if more people in general were engaged in the process. I encourage you to do the research, understand the state you have been appointed to help keep healthy and safe. We do not take women being treated as second class citizens well, as you've seen recently via our last few political elections. Taking away the right to choose when to have a family by using architectural requirements never used on clinics before in VA history is a major oppressive step. Don't kid yourself otherwise.