We at the Lynchburg Breakfast Club have many attendees weekly from all walks of life, and the subject matter of 'reproductive freedom' comes up fairly often, because it is an important issue that deeply divides people, and we are in the business of constitutional education and unity. 'Reproductive' is a good word, and 'freedom' is a good word, but placing them together in the context of the life and death of unborn children transforms the meaning of these words into nothing less than supporting the continuation of modern eugenics, making it yet another tool of the insanely rich and powerful for population engineering. And the general public falls for it, primarily because there's little public debate between opposing viewpoints so as to hash out the pros and cons of each one. If there were more cordial discussion in the open there would be less division and ignorance altogether concerning the subject. That being said, as it is plainly wrong to terminate unborn babies, period, this related issue over contraception brings more government influence to bear upon a subject that is out of its lane. How many tens of thousands of people are offended by the policies and regulations that overreach into Virginian's lives? We strongly urge the committee to reject HB1716 to stop this encroachment of state government.

We at the Lynchburg Breakfast Club have many attendees weekly from all walks of life, and the subject matter of 'reproductive freedom' comes up fairly often, because it is an important issue that deeply divides people, and we are in the business of constitutional education and unity. 'Reproductive' is a good word, and 'freedom' is a good word, but placing them together in the context of the life and death of unborn children transforms the meaning of these words into nothing less than supporting the continuation of modern eugenics, making it yet another tool of the insanely rich and powerful for population engineering. And the general public falls for it, primarily because there's little public debate between opposing viewpoints so as to hash out the pros and cons of each one. If there were more cordial discussion in the open there would be less division and ignorance altogether concerning the subject. That being said, it is plainly wrong to terminate unborn babies. Period. How many tens of thousands of people are offended by the policies and regulations that lead to the destruction of viable baby's lives, however little they may be? Do not ignore THEIR rights, primarily the right to life itself. We strongly urge the committee to reject HB1716 to ensure the safety of every life in Virginia.

I am commenting on behalf of the 200+ women and men of all ages from the New River Valley of Virginia who are part of Our Bodies Our Choice, a non-partisan organization committed to restoring reproductive rights and justice. This group was founded a year ago by a group of women in their 70s and 80s who watched with horror the rapid and nearly complete loss of reproductive freedom in nearly half of the states since Roe v Wade was overturned, just two years ago. We were young women who lived through an era where contraception was not readily available and abortion was illegal. We know what this was like, and we know how hard these protections were to achieve decades ago. We have spent this year educating our community about these unacceptable threats to our reproductive freedom. Over half of OBOC members are students and young adults for whom contraception is an utterly expected part of their lives. They cannot imagine that it could be taken away. Yet that is exactly what is happening in some states. We strongly urge the committee to support HB1716 to ensure that contraception will be protected in Virginia. How could it not be? Patricia Hyer, Chair Our Bodies Our Choice 703 Willard Drive Blacksburg, VA 24060 540-250-5618