A U.S. appeals court has upheld a Texas law that requires abortionists to gain admitting privileges at a local hospital less than 30 miles from their abortion clinics.
A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans ruled the law put in place last July is Constitutional and does not place an undue burden on abortionists or women seeking to end the lives of their babies via abortion.
Lawyers for Planned Parenthood brought in abortionists had told the court that the regulation was unconstitutional because it would require abortion clinics in the state to close. Sixteen abortion clinics in the state have already closed because of the law.
Pro-life supporters say that many of the clinics are not actually closing because of the hospital privilege requirement, but rather they did not want to pay to upgrade their facilities to the same levels of hygiene and safety as other ambulatory surgery clinics.
The decision overturns a lower court ruling that requiring the admitting privileges was unconstitutional.
Abortion advocates said they would continue their fight in the courts to make sure more abortions would be able to continue in the state of Texas.
Arizona lawmakers have passed a bill in the state House of Representatives that would allow surprise inspection of abortion clinics.
The bill would delete a provision of state law that would require a judge to sign off on a warrant before an inspection of any of the nine licensed abortion clinics in the state. This would bring abortion clinics in line with other health care facilities in the state that can be inspected at any time by state health officials.
Republicans say the change has nothing to do with the issue of abortion but rather health conditions for medical facilities.
“What is it that they have to hide?” Representative Debbie Lasko asked of clinic operators and Democratic lawmakers opposed to the bill.
Those who wish to promote and increase abortions said that new law would result in harassment of providers by subjecting them to the same standards used of other health care providers in Arizona.
Texas officials have closed a Houston area abortion clinic because they refused to follow regulations in new state laws.
The Houston Chronicle reported that A Affordable Women’s Medical Center had their license revoked on Friday. The revocation is the first since a law that requires abortion clinic doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles from the clinic.
In addition, Dr. Theodore M. Herring, Jr. has his license to practice medicine temporarily suspended for committing 268 abortions between November 6, 2013 and February 7, 2014. Herring was the clinic’s medical director and sole abortionist.
The law requiring admission privileges went into effect November 1, 2013.
Herring’s lawyers say that the doctor submitted a plan to state officials that was ruled insufficient stating he would obtain the required hospital privileges by August 31, 2014.
Chocolate? No. Flowers? Nope. A special dinner out? Negative.
The head of Planned Parenthood thinks women need “safe abortions” for Valentine’s Day.
Cecile Richards, president of the abortion provider, posted a video online Friday that showed her holding signs with items written inside a heart that women “really” want for Valentine’s Day. Among the list? Abortions.
At the end of the list, Richards sarcastically called abortions “really radical” items.
Planned Parenthood has released information that said in 2012 they killed over 327,000 babies via abortion while only referring 2,197 mothers to adoption services. Since 1970, Planned Parenthood has killed over 5.3 million children via abortion.
A Chicago judge has reduced the fine to an abortion clinic for violations of cleanliness and health issues from $36,000 to just $77.
The arbitrary decision by Cook County Circuit Judge Alexander White said that he reduced the fine because the abortion clinic’s owner closed the facility and there was only $77 left in the company bank account.
However, it’s been shown that while the other clinic was technically closed, the owner opened a brand new clinic in the same location using the same website as he previous clinic without doing anything to repair the health code violations.
The Illinois Department of Health conducted an inspection in 2011 of the Women’s Aid Clinic and found food in the same freezer as fetal tissue, dirty floors, medication cups with old medicine in them and staff re-using paper towels on patients.
The clinic also did not perform CPR on a patient who died while in their care.
While the state can appeal the judge’s action, the state attorney general has been a large supporter of abortion and observers believe nothing will be done.
A record number of abortion clinics in the United States closed during 2013.
The survey from Operation Rescue says the number of surgical abortion clinics in the United States is down 12 percent in 2013 and down 73 percent from a record high in 1991.
In all, 87 clinics discontinued surgical abortions. Six of the clinics remained open to provide abortion-inducing drugs but 81 clinics completely closed their doors. The total does not include clinics that were closed for significant portions of time in 2013.
The number of clinics that only provide abortion-inducing drugs remained fairly steady at 176, with six documented clinic closures.
Planned Parenthood clinics accounted for 30 percent of surgical abortion clinics and 93 percent of all clinics that offer abortion via drugs only. Planned Parenthood, which receives tax dollars, is responsible for about one third of all abortions in the United States.