While the abortion industry is certainly rejoicing, pro-lifers have cause for concern with the latest court rulings.
Operation Rescue has reported on three such rulings in which a judge, or numerous judges, have allowed abortion clinics to stay open. With the case of Toledo, Ohio, this was the city’s last abortion clinic. The ruling for Mississippi allowed the state’s only abortion clinic to remain open. Certainly for a city, or a state, to be without any abortion clinics would be daunting. The supposed right to an abortion does not mention that every state or city is required to have an abortion facility, however.
It is worth noting that the law struck down in Mississippi does not prevent any abortion clinic from ever existing in the state, as Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue points out. One would certainly think that with such a ruling from the Fifth Circuit, however. The law required:
THAT ALL PHYSICIANS WHO PERFORM ABORTIONS IN ABORTION FACILITIES MUST HAVE ADMITTING PRIVILEGES AT A LOCAL HOSPITAL AND MUST BE BOARD CERTIFIED IN OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
Also there are significant patient safety questions after major safety issues were discovered at other facilities operated by the same owner . From Operation Rescue:
Derzis and Norman were ordered by an Alabama court to shut down their abortion business in Birmingham after it was found to pose a danger to the public, and later, to be operating illegally. Those same practices that forced Derzis’ out of Alabama, are present at her Mississippi facility.
It is truly unfortunate that her history was not taken into further consideration by the Fifth Circuit Court. And if it was and ignored then it is proof that our courts are protecting abortion before women then.
On August 4, a judge issued a ruling that Alabama’s law, which also would have required abortion providers to have hospital privileges, was unconstitutional. Alabama is not without its share of problems occurring at abortion clinics, and Operation Rescue highlights that:
Experts have testified in both Alabama and Mississippi that abortionists often call 911 in the event of an emergency, and leave it to emergency room staff, which seldom include an Ob/Gyn, to figure out the extent of a patient’s injuries or complications. This causes a delay in emergency care.
Live Action News has also covered the need for regulation in Alabama. This would actually protect women, unlike the recent ruling.
And just on August 11, a judge blocked an order which would have closed Toledo’s last remaining abortion clinic. The order was issued by the Ohio Department of Health because the facility does not have a valid transfer agreement with a local hospital. Even more sickening is that statements from Troy Newman mention that the judge had “only been exposed to a minimal information about the case…” Newman also commented on the time and efforts put into my the state’s legislature.
If it’s anyone who is making abortion political by going against even a state’s Department of Health, it’s such rulings. And it’s the women who suffer at the hands of these shoddy abortionists and their subpar businesses.
