The world's smallest violin playing the world's saddest song...just for you, Sophie.
Posted on 05/05/2014 4:10:10 AM PDT by markomalley
When Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a sweeping anti-abortion law in 2013, he did so knowing the measure faced an uncertain future. Indeed, the law is already winding its way through the legal system, and if its opponents have their way, Texas's reproductive legal code will land in the hands of the Supreme Court.
But such a decision is likely a year or years a way, and back in the Lone Star State, the final judicial score won't much matter.
The law has already had tremendous success in closing abortion clinics and restricting abortion access in Texas. And those successes appear all but certain to stick—with or without the Supreme Court's approval of the law that created them.
There were more than 40 clinics that provided abortions in Texas in 2011. There are now 20 still open, and after the law's last steps of implementation are taken in September, all but six are expected to close. Most of the closed clinics will never reopen, their operators say.
Few businesses could survive a years-long hibernation, and that's all the more true for clinics, providers say. The added difficulty of finding qualified doctors, getting new licences, and navigating state health department regulations is a hurdle higher than most closed clinics are likely to clear—especially in a state where a sizable portion of the public is vehemently opposed to abortion and unwilling to aid it in any way.
"I can't find anyone to deliver water or resurface the parking lot, because they're against abortion. I can't get someone to fix a leak in the roof," said Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Women's Health.
In March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit—which covers Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana—upheld the law as constitutional. Additionally, the court declined a request to keep two of the law's provisions, both of which were instrumental in the clinic closures, from taking effect before the legal struggle over the law is completed.
The clinic closures will increase as the law phases in a set of requirements for abortion facilities. The first set, which included a requirement that doctors performing the procedure have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles, went into effect last November, prompting many clinics to close. The final set of restrictions—that all abortions, including drug-induced, be performed in ambulatory surgical centers—takes effect in September.
Hagstrom Miller's company had five abortion facilities and one ambulatory surgical center in Texas in 2013. Two closed as a result of the admitting-privilege requirement in March, and it's likely that only the surgical center in San Antonio will remain by September.
"The opposition has been extremely strategic," Hagstrom Miller said. "This law is perfectly crafted."
Ambulatory surgical centers are facilities that conduct outpatient or same-day surgical procedures, and must meet specific requirements regarding infrastructure, procedures, and equipment. The centers cost far more to run than abortion clinics, and would cost several million dollars to build from the ground up.
Hagstrom Miller also said it has been impossible to find hospitals that will agree to give admitting privileges to abortion providers, or ambulatory surgical centers that will sell or lease their facilities. Leasing or buying the space itself is expensive and difficult, and Hagstrom Miller currently has mortgages on three buildings, which she will have to sell. She purchased those under a different name, and did construction without associating them with Whole Woman's Health out of concern that she wouldn't get permitting or might attract protests.
The antiabortion coalition that backs the law sees all of this as sound public policy, arguing that the law's restrictions were put in place to protect women seeking medical care, and if the centers can't meet them, then they should be closed and stay closed.
"If the state is passing regulations that are similar or equivalent to those that all other medical facilities provide, and some [clinics] close because they're not meeting standards that other medical facilities have to meet, I don't see a problem with that," said Dan McConchie, vice president for government affairs at Americans United for Life, an advocacy group that worked on parts of the Texas legislation.
The six remaining abortion clinics come September will be clustered in major cities, which opponents of the law argue unfairly disadvantages women in rural areas—particularly the Rio Grande Valley—who tend to be poorer and less able to travel long distances for an abortion. Those clinics that remain will be serving more women with fewer doctors, leading to longer wait times and delayed procedures, the opponents say.
The legal struggle over the law continues, but in Texas, the law's challengers are looking beyond their state's borders. Following a broad Republican conquest of statehouses in 2010, a wave of state-level antiabortion laws have been passed—including in states whose circuit courts abortion rights groups hope will be more sympathetic to their arguments.
As challenges to those laws work their way up the legal system, opponents of the Texas law are hoping for a circuit-court ruling that is incompatible with the 5th Circuit appeals decision. Such a contradiction would open the possibility of the entire issue being elevated to the Supreme Court, where—depending on the scope of the decision—Texas's law could either be upheld or struck down.
But the U.S. judicial system is a deliberative one, and with the request for a stay denied, the Texas law is unlikely to be voided anytime soon.
"[A decision] is a ways away," said Jennifer Dalven, director of the Reproductive Freedom Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, which was part of the suit filed against the Texas legislation. "I dont think it would be next year; more likely in the year after that."
The world's smallest violin playing the world's saddest song...just for you, Sophie.
Good, this is a winning strategy and is saving lives
Well, I’ll believe it when I see it...
There’s the “big” one sitting right up the Gulf Freeway right next to the University of Houston on the south side of town that needs to go...
Get rid of that facility, and I’ll believe the effort here was not wasted...
After 40+ years it's about time.
-— , all but six are expected to close. Most of the closed clinics will never reopen, their operators say -—
Great news! Thank God.
I”m especially impressed by the fact that they couldn’t find contractors to work on their facilities.
And here I thought that Abortion Barbie was going to save the day.
Democrats thought abortion was the one magic issue women would rally around. Too bad women turned out to be far more complex than the single issue voters the rats had hoped they would be.
-— , all but six are expected to close. Most of the closed clinics will never reopen, their operators say -—
Great new! Thank God.
I”m especially impressed by the fact that they couldn’t find contractors to work on their facilities.
“’I can’t find anyone to deliver water or resurface the parking lot, because they’re against abortion. I can’t get someone to fix a leak in the roof,’ said Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Women’s Health.”
Well, Amy — since you’re in the business of butchering babies, this is a good thing.
I’ve always heard that the pro-babykillers wanted abortions to be “safe”. Why would they get all upset because of a law making sure abortion clinics are as clean as any other medical center? That’s because Democrats, Leftists, etc. WANT and LOVE dead babies....especially dead black and hispanic babies.
PP is building a $5 million abortion super center in San Antonio
Awesome. And later in the article, we see that she misrepresents herself in order to get building permits, because no one wants to issue them for abortuaries. Increasing the stigma of abortion to the point where no one wants to enable any facet of the business seems to be very effective.
The clinic closures will increase as the law phases in a set of requirements for abortion facilities. The first set, which included a requirement that doctors performing the procedure have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles, went into effect last November, prompting many clinics to close. The final set of restrictions—that all abortions, including drug-induced, be performed in ambulatory surgical centers—takes effect in September.
Abortionists and their sycophants always claim that abortion is a health matter. Yet, when it comes to actually protecting the health of women seeking their services, they are dead set against it. Pro-abortion women, doesn't that tell you something about how abortionists *really* feel about you?
"If the state is passing regulations that are similar or equivalent to those that all other medical facilities provide, and some [clinics] close because they're not meeting standards that other medical facilities have to meet, I don't see a problem with that," said Dan McConchie, vice president for government affairs at Americans United for Life, an advocacy group that worked on parts of the Texas legislation.
He is using the wrong language. Abortuaries are *not* medical clinics; he should not be using terminology ("other medical facilities") that implies that they have a medical function.
The six remaining abortion clinics come September will be clustered in major cities, which opponents of the law argue unfairly disadvantages women in rural areas—particularly the Rio Grande Valley—who tend to be poorer and less able to travel long distances for an abortion. Those clinics that remain will be serving more women with fewer doctors, leading to longer wait times and delayed procedures, the opponents say.
Since a major reason women who have abortions choose to get pregnant in the first place is that abortion is easily available and, in many cases, paid for by someone else, I fail to see a down side here. Just maybe, if it is actually inconvenient to get an abortion, they'll choose to be a little more careful--like maybe NOT hopping into bed with every guy they meet, and making use of one of the many forms of contraceptives when they DO decide to go that far.
Pro-abortion women, pay close attention to this. These challenges have nothing to do with women's rights. These challengers want to *prevent* abortuaries from operating under the same health and safety standards that legitimate medical facilities have to adhere to. This means that the health and safety of women aren't even a concern for the abortion business--maximizing their profits at the expense of women is their *only* concern.
They want to murder unborn babies and they want to do it like they're running an abattoir, only they throw it all away. Murdering bunch of little Eichmann's if you ask me.
If the issue of "women's health," is genuinely important to you then you should happily operate without a profit in order to build/fund the necessary facilities. Think of it as being like minimum wage laws increasing the operating costs of a business, you liberals all think that a business should just reduce it's profit in order to pay the employees more. Your abortion business doesn't need profits, right?
Let us pray that this is just the beginning. A small wedge that will open a floodgate of anti-abortion legislation that will survive in court.
God please bless the babies.
I thought Democrats loved regulations?
They are constantly whining about not enough regulations, deregulation etc.
That indicates that FAR more than "a sizable portion of the public is vehemently opposed to abortion and unwilling to aid it in any way". That indicates near-unanimous consensus, at least among the men who resurface parking lots and fix roofs.
Maybe they can ask the faculty of the local college's "Women's Studies" dept to fix their roof?
It wins until they get real doctors who also practice useful medicine.
This just ends the cut rate abortion mills.
Long term this isn’t enough, although making it more expensive helps.
Rut Roh
What a whiner! Since you’re a feminist, Amy, why don’t you get out there and fix the leak yourself? Oh, I see, you need a big, strong man to do it.
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