A DOZEN+ RESTRICTIONS

"As an administrator of four women’s health centers across the Commonwealth, I have witnessed first-hand the barriers that Virginia’s mandatory ultrasound and 24-hour waiting period law places on women. Politicians decided that providers must perform an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the actual abortion procedure. This law means our patients are forced to return to our facility twice, on separate days, for no medical reason. That all requires additional travel expenses, child care costs, and time off from work. This law is about one thing and one thing only – making it harder to get an abortion and shaming a woman who chooses to access it."

"After two months of regularly taking my birth control, I realized that I was pregnant. After crying, taking two more tests, crying more to my sisters, and wondering if my mother needed a new baby to fill her empty nest, I called my boyfriend. We decided that, while we would like to have children together eventually, we were not emotionally or financially ready to have a child. He took me to the clinic (twice so I could think hard about my decision after receiving unwelcome counseling and an even more unwelcome ultrasound) and brought me home afterward... I thought about my life and the man I love and the children we will one day raise together, and I felt reassured that my choice was correct because, ultimately, it is, and should always be, my choice."

"My oldest daughter, a young adult, discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant. We went over all the alternatives and choices and decided that an elective termination would be best... Sure enough the whole "consultation" aspect, which is to be at least 24 hours prior to the procedure, was scheduled on a Monday and the procedure on a Friday. My daughter was traveling 300 miles and couldn't wait five days to have the procedure done."