Baker's bill, meanwhile, has moved out of committee and now faces a full House vote. Its measures appear to be gaining traction in the Senate: At last week's hearing, Sen. Bob Mensch (R-Bucks) voiced support for stricter regulations. Baker told CP that Mensch may pen a Senate amendment that holds clinics to the outpatient standards. Sen. Mensch did not respond to requests for comment.
Stevens, of Planned Parenthood Advocates, says assertions about clinics potentially shutting down "aren't hypothetical" and points to a bill passed in 2004 in Texas that imposed similar regulations on abortion clinics. Of 20 clinics statewide, she says, none could initially comply. Eventually, a few managed to become certified outpatient facilities — but not without raising the cost of an abortion by as much as $1,000.
"We've seen this before," says Stevens. "It's a tactic that's been used against low-income women for a long time."
