The abortion industry opposes health and safety standards, politicizing and radicalizing women’s health care.
It should be a national scandal that the abortion industry fights viciously against any kind of medical standard of care to protect women, even when those efforts mirror its own internal recommendations. The industry simply rejects accountability.
Recently, a federal appeals court upheld a Texas law requiring abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges near their practices.
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, admits that women may suffer complications after abortions, including blood clots, hemorrhage, incomplete abortions, infection and organ injuries.
It further concedes that in Texas, at least 210 women a year must be hospitalized after abortions.
Given these realities, medical experts testified recently that an abortionist should maintain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. That’s a pretty low bar for medical competence, particularly in a field characterized by “circuit rider” abortionists who aren’t local doctors.
In fact, the National Abortion Federation has a pamphlet entitled “Having an Abortion? Your Guide to Good Care.” Its recommendation? Find an abortionist who in “case of an emergency” can “admit patients to a nearby hospital (no more than 20 minutes away).” That’s good advice.
The abortion industry should support admitting privileges but doesn’t.
Instead, it actively opposes health and safety standards, politicizing and radicalizing women’s health care.
The results are deeply troubling. And not just in Texas.
In 2012, oversight in Illinois found some abortion sites had not been inspected for as long as 15 years. Two were shut down temporarily because of egregious threats to women’s health; both decided to stay closed. Other states, including New York and Pennsylvania, have seen similar problems.
If a restaurant has to close down after inspectors find appalling conditions, no one faults the inspector.
We routinely pass laws to protect vulnerable consumers from predatory opportunists. Just so with abortion business regulations.
The abortion industry treats women in crisis like a profit center and haughtily demands to be left alone, despite known harms to women.
Americans should be asking what they have to hide.
USA TODAY – States’ abortion limits erode right to choose: Our view –
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/09/07/abortion-texas-supreme-court-editorials-debates/71415468/
Charmaine Yoest is president of Americans United for Life.
Charmaine Yoest, September 7, 2015, http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/09/07/abortion-americans-united–life-editorials-debates/71843634/