In late October, federal judge Lee Yeakel prevented portions of Texas’ pro-life omnibus bill, HB2, from going into effect on its intended implementation date, October 29, by ruling them unconstitutional. Among other provisions, the judge ruled that HB2’s mandate that abortionists operating in Texas must obtain hospital admitting privileges within a 30-mile radius was unconstitutional. Pro-life bill sponsors of HB2 had pushed for the 30-mile rule solely to safeguard women’s health in the event of a botched abortion or other life-threatening complication as a result of abortion.
Not surprisingly, Planned Parenthood touted the provision as a threat to women’s health, and their lawsuit is what prompted Yeakel’s ruling. However, Wesley J. Smith poignantly noted that Planned Parenthood markets itself as an organization providing basic women’s healthcare. To provide basic women’s healthcare, Planned Parenthood does not need physicians with admitting privileges at a nearby hospital (the admitting privileges were only required for abortionists, and abortion is not basic women’s healthcare).
Thankfully, last Friday Texas’ Fifth Circuit Court overturned Yeakel’s ruling of unconstitutionality, restoring the 30-mile rule and other provisions that he had voted down. The provisions went into immediate effect, and as a result 100 women had their appointments canceled on Friday, and about 12 abortion clinics have closed because their resident abortionists did not meet the new requirements needed to commit abortion in Texas.
Although Planned Parenthood constantly spouts that abortion accounts for only a small percentage of the “services” it provides, somehow losing their income from only abortion was a severe enough blow to close down a dozen abortion centers in Texas, four of which were Planned Parenthood clinics. If their lying about doing mammograms wasn’t enough to demonstrate Planned Parenthood’s non-commitment to “basic women’s healthcare,” clinic closures resulting from the loss of abortion revenue may be a good indication. The following is a list of the confirmed clinics that have closed thanks to the monumental success of pro-life legislators and advocates in Texas who fought hard for women’s health by promoting the passage of HB2.
- Whole Woman’s Health of Fort Worth
- Whole Women’s Health of San Antonio
- Whole Women’s Health of McAllen
- Reproductive Services of El Paso
- Reproductive Services of Harlingen
- Killeen Women’s Health Center
- Planned Parenthood Audre Rapoport Women’s Health Center (Waco)
- Planned Parenthood Southwest Fort Worth Health Center
- West Side Clinic (Fort Worth)
- Planned Parenthood Women’s Health Center (Lubbock)
- Planned Parenthood South Austin Health Center
