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Abortion-clinic legislation is misguided

Abortion-clinic legislation is misguided

It wouldn't prevent the horrors we saw in Philadelphia; it might lead to more

Last week, my House colleagues passed legislation in response to the atrocities that authorities allege occurred in Kermit Gosnell's abortion clinic in Philadelphia. The Senate could consider similar legislation as soon as today.

That it took so long to close the Gosnell clinic is a clear indictment of the state Department of Health's previous policy on inspections. But we've been so focused on the atrocities that we've failed to direct our attention to the bill itself.

Legislation shouldn't be measured by how large the original problem was, but rather by whether it would fix it. Unfortunately, that's where House Bill 574 fails miserably.

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What would HB 574 actually do?

Among other things, it would mandate many changes to the physical structures of abortion clinics:

• Instead of allowing rooms of 150 square feet, they would have to be between 250 to 400 square feet.

• Heating, air conditioning and ventilating equipment would have to operate above a specific velocity.

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• "Hospital-type elevators" would be required that could bear at least 3,500 pounds -- the weight of a Chevy Volt electric car.

The size of rooms, speed of air flow and type of elevators had nothing to do with the problems at the Gosnell clinic. As the indictment alleges, the problem was a man violating the law, shamelessly, for years.

If Mr. Gosnell's clinic had a larger elevator and better ventilation, it wouldn't have changed his ability to prey ruthlessly on vulnerable women. If his operating rooms were more expansive, it wouldn't have made him follow the Abortion Control Act, which makes it a crime to terminate a pregnancy at or after 24 weeks.

HB 574 wouldn't have put Mr. Gosnell out of business. Only inspections from the state Department of Health could have done that.

But the bill would put out of business those organizations that have scrupulously followed the law for decades to care for women in need.

Many health and abortion clinics would be required to completely renovate or move -- a process that can take a year and a half or more -- in only two months. They would be required to hire a full-time nurse, who would be paid even for days when no patients need surgery.

Many clinics would simply shut down rather than comply. In Texas, when similar regulations were put in place, it took a long time to meet them. After several years, only 20 percent of providers had become licensed.

Those clinics that would be able to afford the changes in HB 574 would have to charge more -- upward of $1,000 more for a procedure.

That's the real problem with the bill. Instead of helping us pursue criminals, it would drive women into criminal clinics. Poor women chose to see Mr. Gosnell because he was cheap. If we force the best providers to raise their prices, we will create demand for more Gosnells.

If that happens, it's an indictment on the Legislature, and it's downright terrifying.

Our Department of Health is moving in the right direction by now conducting regular on-site inspections of health centers where abortions are performed. Since the revelations about Mr. Gosnell's operation surfaced, each clinic has been inspected and some have been inspected many times.

The Department of Health also has created a process to produce an automatic inspection after every complaint. Inspectors now monitor our clinics carefully, citing even small violations -- paper towels in the wrong place, fire extinguishers in the wrong containers or signatures on the wrong pages.

Thankfully, even with all this new oversight, they haven't found any violations that would have harmed women's health.

Any legislation responding to the Gosnell horror must actually prevent more Gosnells. The women of Pennsylvania rightly demand that of us. And we could do it. We could require the Health Department to inspect clinics annually. We could allow for a system of anonymous tips to the Health Department so that patients or staff could finger clinics violating the law.

What we shouldn't do is make the situation worse. And I'm very much afraid that's what would happen should HB 574 become law.

First Published: May 23, 2011, 4:00 a.m.

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