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State Senate passes abortion amendment that some call public health "catastrophe"
Yesterday, the state Senate passed an amendment to an abortion bill that women's advocates and pro-choice activists say would lead to nothing less than a public health "catastrophe."
State Senate passes abortion amendment that some call public health "catastrophe"
Yesterday, the state Senate passed an amendment to an abortion bill that women's advocates and pro-choice activists say would lead to nothing less than a public health "catastrophe" if it became law. But supporters of the amendment say that it would protect women seeking abortions.
It would require that most abortion clinics be regulated as outpatient surgery centers. The author of the amendment, Sen. Bob Mensch (R), says that this is "necessary to cure the systemic deficiencies present in the current regulatory scheme."
But pro-choice advocates say that this amendment is an anti-abortion Trojan horse, which could close every abortion clinic in the state because of its supposedly unnecessary — and unnecessarily costly — regulations. They would require, among other things, that operating rooms be at least 400 square feet, and that a nurse always be on duty, even when abortions aren't taking place.
Mensch's amendment is to a bill authored by state Sen. Pat Vance, which would regulate abortion clinics. But why is abortion legislation being introduced in the first place?
The story of this amendment — and the intense controversy that surrounds it, which City Paper has covered extensively — begins with the West Philly abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell.
In early 2011, the District Attorney charged him with the murder of seven babies and one woman, and news spread quickly about his allegedly squalid clinic. Almost immediately, state legislators scrambled to make legislation that would prevent another Gosnell. After all, the D.A.'s grand jury report laid much blame on the state's health department, because it hadn't inspected Gosnell's clinic for 17 years — or any other Pennsylvania clinic for that matter, apparently due to "political reasons."
Two bills advanced: one penned by state Rep. Matt Baker and the aforementioned one by Vance. Baker's bill, which has passed in the House, would require that most abortion clinics be regulated like outpatient surgical centers, just like Mensch's amendment.
Baker, an anti-abortion Republican, insists that the bill is not a Trojan horse, telling CP earlier this year, "Many strict pro-life people believe we should shut all the clinics down. That's not what this bill does."
Pro-choice advocates called Vance's bill, which would create a new licensing system and allow for anonymous complaints about abortion clinics, "way better" than Baker's — until Mensch's amendment passed yesterday, that is. They argue that the amendment's "unnecessary" regulations would drive up the cost of abortions and possibly close down all state clinics, thus pushing more women to go to illegal providers like Gosnell.
“If you wanted to invent the perfect plan for driving more women to seek out cheap, illegal, unsafe practitioners, the Mensch amendment would be that plan,” said Sue Frietsche of the Women's Law Project in a statement.
Interestingly, Mensch's amendment received bipartisan support with a 31-18 vote — and bipartisan opposition. Now, Vance's amended bill must go before the full Senate for a vote.
Since both Baker's and Vance's bills still haven't went before the opposite chamber for a vote, it's possible that this battle won't be over before the state legislature's summer recess. Frietsche says she wouldn't mind if legislators had more time to ponder the bills: "The more carefully they're studied," she says, "the more the flaws become obvious."
Let's make this a moot point. Contraception. Contraception. Contraception. Why don't people talk about this anymore-I hardly ever hear about it. It should be raining down from the trees. Abortion is just gross. I am not out to control women-I am pro-choice but I hope this bill does not interfere with contraception. Let's fund contraception for men and women. It is better on so many levels than abortion. It is better for the earth too-we have too many people. It is time to get over ourselves.— ConA
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