LIFE DIGEST: Virginia enacts stronger rules on abortion clinics
- Mar 29, 2011 -
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law March 26 a bill to require abortion clinics to abide by the standards expected of hospitals. The law is the first in the country to mandate such regulations for clinics performing first-trimester abortions.
Abortion-rights advocates have decried the measure, which could control such things as the width of hallways. They have said possibly 17 of Virginia’s 21 abortion clinics might have to close, The Washington Post reported.
Also in this edition: Planned Parenthood leaves 150 cities in 15 years, survey says and Saved babies reach 178 in 40 Days for Life campaign.
“Everyone, including abortion facility operators, should be able to agree that abortion clinics should not operate with less oversight than veterinary clinics, as they do in many states,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, after the bill’s passage. “Women deserve much better.”
The state’s Board of Health will write regulations to govern enforcement of the new law.
The Senate’s passage of the legislation came when Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, the presiding officer, broke a 20-20 deadlock. McDonnell is a Republican as well.
In other state policy developments:
- The Idaho House of Representatives passed in a 61-8 vote March 28 a bill prohibiting assisted suicide, according to the Idaho Reporter. The legislation, which already had been approved by the Senate, awaits action from Republican Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter.
- The Arkansas House of Representatives voted 88-0 March 25 to mandate state licensing for medical centers that dispense the abortion drug RU 486, according to LifeNews.com. The day before, the Arkansas Senate approved in a 25-4 vote a bill to require abortion clinics to meet the standards of out-patient surgery centers. Senators also voted 22-7 for legislation to mandate the abortion drug RU 486 be administered in compliance with the guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- The Delaware House passed in a 27-12 vote March 22 a bill to permit the state to inspect abortion clinics and other out-patient medical centers, according to The Wilmington (Del.) News Journal.
- The Kansas Senate voted 24-13 March 23 to prohibit abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy based on evidence the unborn child experiences pain at that point in gestation. The bill will go to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who is expected to sign it.
- The Idaho Senate approved in a 24-10 vote March 23 another fetal-pain bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, The Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review reported.
Planned Parenthood leaves 150 cities in 15 years, survey says
Planned Parenthood has left more than 150 communities in the last 15 years, even though its number of abortions performed continues to increase, according to a new survey.
The American Life League (ALL), a Virginia-based pro-life organization that tracks Planned Parenthood activities, reported March 22 the country’s leading abortion provider has abandoned 153 localities since 1995.
The number of Planned Parenthood abortion clinics increased, however, from 304 to 321 in 2010, ALL reported. Of those, 165 do both surgical abortions and medical, or RU-486, abortions, and 156 do only medical abortions, according to the survey.
More than 332,000 abortions were performed at Planned Parenthood clinics in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available. That was an increase of about 8,000 over 2008, nearly 27,000 since 2007 and more than 42,000 since 2006.
The ALL survey showed Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) opened 18 new clinics in 2010 and closed 49. PPFA now has 785 clinics, which is its lowest total since 1986, according to ALL.
PPFA’s strategy in recent years has been to build mega-clinics in large cities such as Houston, Texas, and Denver, Colo. Last year, it issued a mandate that each of its 86 affiliates have at least one clinic that performs abortions. PPFA also is seeking to force small affiliates to merge with large ones, ALL reported.
Congressional members are seeking to eliminate all federal funding of PPFA and its affiliates in a continuing budget resolution. The House of Representatives voted in February to defund Planned Parenthood, which received $363.2 million in government grants and contracts during the 2008-09 fiscal year. Some of that total came from state and local governments. The Senate, however, rejected that proposal. The budget has yet to be resolved for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Saved babies reach 178 in 40 Days for Life campaign
The latest 40 Days for Life campaign recorded 178 unborn children saved from abortion through March 27, the organization reported.
The effort, which will close April 17, is the largest of 40 Days for Life’s eight campaigns. Since its first national campaign in 2007, 40 Days has grown from 89 participating locations to 247 cities this spring in the United States and 10 other countries.
The biannual campaign consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting to end abortion, as well as community outreach and peaceful prayer vigils outside abortion clinics. Since 2007, there have been nearly 3,600 unborn children spared from abortion during 40 Days campaigns, according to reports to the organization.
A 40 Days participant reported about a recently divorced mother who had scheduled an appointment for an abortion at a Planned Parenthood center in Mobile, Ala.
“A long-time sidewalk counselor spoke with her and persuaded her to cross the street and visit with the Christian volunteers at the Women’s Resource Center,” said vigil participant Fred, according to a 40 Days for Life report March 20. “She stayed in contact with them and confirmed today that she will keep her child. Thanks be to God!”
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. Our free, downloadable Impact resource is also available online. If your church is interested in purchasing materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com
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