Gov. Terry McAuliffe is pushing to roll back Virginia’s new law that protects women in the state. He would rather protect the abortion industry than the health of women in the Commonwealth.
According to Gov. McAuliffe, “I am concerned that the extreme and punitive regulations adopted last year jeopardize the ability of most women’s health centers to keep their doors open and place in jeopardy the health and reproductive rights of Virginia women … In order to grow and diversify our economy, Virginia needs to be open and welcoming to all, and we need to ensure that all Virginia women have access to the healthcare resources they need.”
His efforts to undermine Virginia’s reasonable and protective abortion center standards is a clear example of how committed he is to the abortion industry lobby that helped to get him elected.
The law that Gov. McAuliffe wants to change simply requires that abortion centers be treated like outpatient surgical centers if they provide five or more first-trimester abortions a month. These standards address equipment standards, staff training, sanitation, and building standards which are necessary to protect women and ensure that if there is an emergency, paramedics will be able to get the equipment they need into the facility to save lives.
Many women who visit abortion centers are concerned with the situation looming before them. They are not focused on the unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the abortion centers. We need your help to protect these unsuspecting women and not the abortion industry. Please help by submitting a comment between now and July 31, 2014 to:
Erik Bodin, Director
Virginia Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification
9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 401
Richmond, VA 23233
Click here to submit the comment electronically.
Please feel free to use the sample comment as a guide.
Thank you for making a difference!
Janet Robey
State Director
CWA of Virginia
director@virginia.cwfa.org
Sample Comment
{Date}
Erik Bodin, Director
Virginia Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification
9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 401
Richmond, VA 23233
Dear Mr. Bodin,
I am writing today in response to the periodic review and small business impact review of 12VAC5-412, Regulations for the Licensure of Abortion Facilities. I ask that you do not modify, repeal or weaken these regulations.
These regulations are clearly needed to protect women. Despite abortion centers receiving notice about upcoming inspections, over 80 violations were discovered.
Inspectors found an abortion center splattered with blood and improperly storing fetal remains. Several failed to comply with even basic sterilization procedures. Other inspections revealed problems at abortion centers with the storage and dispensing of drugs, including several with expired drugs in stock, and others with improper labeling of drugs. In addition, personnel were not properly trained and procedures were not maintained.
Finally, several abortion centers were cited for local and state building code violations. Abortion centers claim that requiring them to meet certain building standards puts an undue burden on their “business.” And for many people concerned with abortion safety, regulating hallways, doorways and other building aspects does not appear at first blush to address women’s health. However, in repeated instances paramedics have been unable to assist women who suffer complications of a botched abortion. In the Gosnell case, the woman who died from her abortion, Karnamaya Mongar, died in part because the paramedics were unable to negotiate hallways at Gosnell’s abortion center.
The bottom line is that women’s safety and health should be a top priority in any surgical procedure, including an abortion. The standards were not implemented on a whim or for political reasons. These standards were the result of an arduous two-year process that was amply reviewed by the Virginia Board of Health. To repeal or weaken these standards places women in harm’s way. The safety of Virginian’s is this Board’s most important consideration.
Sincerely,
{Your Name}
{Address}
{Email Address}