Motivated by 'horrific' crimes at Philadelphia abortion clinic
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign into law new regulations that will require the state Department of Health to hold abortion facilities in Pennsylvania to the same standards as other outpatient surgical facilities.
Supporters said the bill passed by the state House and Senate this week will protect women’s health and ensure the state maintains high standards for abortion in the aftermath of the horrific crimes allegedly committed at a Philadelphia abortion facility during the past 15 years.
But opponents argue that the bill has been driven by ideological zealots who are more interested in blocking access to abortion, and the new provisions will limit women’s right to choose.
The bill requires abortion clinics to install hospital-grade elevators and larger operating rooms as well as have parking lots and driveways that can fit an ambulance.
But state Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, said the situation at the Gosnell clinic required the state to act in the interest of protecting women.
“This bill makes it consistent with other facilities that perform similar services and protects the safety and well-being of women in Pennsylvania,” Orie said Wednesday when the bill was passed in the state Senate.
Facilities that do not meet the new standards will have to close or move to a new location.
State Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, said the bill would make it economically "unfeasible” for some abortion facilities to operate.
The consequence will be more women turning to dangerous “back ally” abortions, because they cannot afford or find an abortion clinic, said state Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Luzerne.
The bill has been working its way through the Legislature since March and passed the state House on Tuesday with a vote of 151-44 and the Senate concurred Wednesday with a vote of 32-18.
The bill was motivated by a grand jury report that detailed horrific and unsanitary conditions at the clinic run by Dr. Kermit Gosnell. As a result, the state shut down the clinic.
According to the presentment from the grand jury, Gosnell and his staff operated the facility in a “reckless and criminal manner” that lead to the death of at least one patient as the result of a botched abortion. He also is charged with killing eight infants who were delivered alive.
According to prosecutors, the clinic was performing illegal “late-term abortions” in the third trimester of pregnancy, according to the presentment.
Gosnell and nine others connected to the abortion clinic were charged in January with crimes ranging from murder to perjury, criminal conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial, which is scheduled for August 2012. This week, Gosnell's wife, Pearl Gosnell, pleaded guilty to charges against her and is awaiting sentencing. Six other staffers also have pleaded guilty in the case, according to media reports.
The report also detailed the lack of action by city and state departments of health, which failed to inspect abortion facilities statewide regularly.
“Clearly, something had to change,” said Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a socially conservative organization that supported the bill.
Geer said there should be no difference between medical facilities that provide abortion and those that provide other outpatient surgical procedures, which also require the use of anesthesia.
“If that is what the state is requiring for arthroscopic knee surgeries, what is special about abortion that it should be granted allowances for lower standards?” he asked.
Jo Ellen Bowman, executive director for Planned Parenthood, a pro-abortion rights group, said more than 37,000 women in Pennsylvania had abortions last year with a complication rate of 0.1 percent.
“Their elected representatives have done them and their families a deep disservice,” Bowman said. “When women lose access to the high-quality providers through unnecessary over-regulation, we will know who to blame.”
Opponents also argued that better enforcement of existing standards and regular inspections would have shut down the Gosnell clinic long ago.
State Sen. Jane Earll, R-Erie, said the Gosnell situation provided an opportunity for “zealots” who wish to ban abortion, and the legislation has “nothing to do” with women’s health.
The University of Pennsylvania Hospital and University of Pittsburgh medical center sent letters to lawmakers urging them to not pass the bill. Other groups, including the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also voiced their opposition to the new regulations.
Planned Parenthood is asking Corbett to veto the bill.
This week, the state House and Senate also approved legislation that would ban a Pennsylvania-based health-care exchange from funding abortions. The exchanges are part of the new federal health-care law, but do not have to be created until 2014.
Even then, Pennsylvania may chose to not enact an exchange, which would leave residents with the option of joining a national health-care exchange. In that instance, the bill would have no impact on abortion coverage in the state.
