Good medicine cannot co-exist with the extreme, ideological attacks on access to abortion. The latest evidence of this comes from the state of Virginia, which has already served as a key battleground for the war on women.
For example, it was Virginia that sparked a huge outcry from women across the state and the country around legislation REQUIRING mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds.
And it is Virginia that is home to an Attorney General who twisted the law and threatened members of the Board of Health, so that they would vote for unnecessary and unprecedented regulations on doctors and facilities that provide abortion.
Now, Virginia is the state where the State Health Commissioner felt she had no choice but to resign because this extremism made it impossible for her to do her job—to protect the health of Virginia women and families. Dr. Karen Remley announced her resignation yesterday, saying:
Unfortunately, how specific sections of the Virginia Code pertaining to the development and enforcement of these regulations have been and continue to be interpreted has created an environment in which my ability to fulfill my duties is compromised and in good faith I can no longer serve in my role.
The war on women continues, and has now pushed out the Virginia health commissioner solely because she put public health above politics. The casualties are public health in general, and women’s health in particular.
Enough is enough. Politicians must stop interfering with a woman’s health. More than a third of women say abortion is the number one issue for them in this campaign, and they will remember bullying tactics like this when they go to the polls next month.
Decisions about your reproductive health are personal. You can keep them that way. Learn more and learn how you can take action at ThisIsPersonal.org.
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