America’s Women Thrown to the Wolves

This week the US Supreme Court announced its ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.  It was the worst possible scenario regarding Texas legislation HB2.

The abortion industry and media largely hailed HB2 as unnecessary and a thinly-veiled attempt by pro-lifers to block the right to abortion.  Were they right?  A brief look at the facts surrounding this case shows even the most naïve reader that the Court deemed women unworthy of basic standards of care.  The facts show these justices threw women to the wolves.

The legislation would have required abortion facilities have the same basic level of cleanliness, health and safety requirements as other ambulatory surgical centers (ASC).  It would’ve also required abortionists have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles in the event something goes wrong—and it often does.

Whole Woman’s Health is a chain of abortion facilities operating in five states.  They’re owned by Amy Hagstrom Miller, described in media reports as “outspoken.”

First, let’s briefly look at some of the requirements involved when bringing an abortion facility up to ASC standards, and then examine the condition of Hagstrom Miller’s chain of abortion mills.  After which we can better judge if the legislation was needed.

An ASC must have:

• A transfer agreement with a hospital or make sure all doctors (in this case abortionists) doing surgical abortions have admitting privileges at a hospital.

• Clean equipment and a facility free of insects, rodents, litter and trash.

• A qualified nursing staff to see to the needs of patients

• Procedures for sterilization of supplies

• Surgical rooms that are appropriately cleaned

• A supply of clean linen, a medical record system, proper ventilation and emergency lighting and power

Common sense basics, right?  Let’s see how the abortion chain lives up to even the most rudimentary requirements.  My thanks to Texas Alliance for Life for connecting some of these dots.

• A 2011 inspection revealed: staff were not trained in the sterilization process, a failure to staff a trained nurse, rust on the abortion equipment, stained and discolored floors, staff not properly trained in CPR, a failure to provide proper emergency equipment and there were expired medications and equipment.

• A 2012 inspection showed Hagstrom Miller didn’t even staff a facility with an experienced licensed vocational nurse, and staff was still unable to properly sterilize surgical instruments.

• Another inspector’s report in 2013 revealed little progress was made in rectifying serious health violations. Rust was still on abortion suction machines, they found expired drugs and a large hole in the cabinet flooring, providing a highway inside for rodents. A later inspection showed staff was still not trained in proper sterilization procedures, with equipment vulnerable to cross contamination. The same problem presented itself in a follow up inspection.

• In spite of three state inspections saying otherwise, Hagstrom Miller said, “There is no safety problem around abortion in Texas.”

• A 2014 inspection reported more of the same.

• Last year, Hagstom Miller arrogantly declared, “I own and operate 8 high quality independent abortion care clinics in 5 states – Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico and Maryland.”

• She said this even though 2015 inspections found 43 pages of safety violations at multiple facilities, which included dust-covered suction machines, improper sterilization (no surprise there) and a variety of other serious violations.

After all of this, the five-state abortion chain continues to expose women to dangerous conditions, yet the owner claims everything’s clean as a whistle and the biased media won’t question her word.

How many women do you imagine are asking the right questions about safety and cleanliness when they go in for an abortion? Probably little to none.  That’s why the state of Texas was well within their right—no, it’s their obligation—to pass legislation protecting women’s lives.  With a pro-abortion court in control, pro-life legislators are powerless to end the killing of innocent babies, so they tried their level best to make it safer for the mothers.  Still, the Court looked at safety protections for women; decided to legislate from the bench and signed a blank check made out to the abortion industry.

Not only did five US Supreme Court Justices blatantly take on a legislative role clearly prohibited by the constitution, they threw women and their unborn babies to the wolves—those wolves being the legal, back-alley abortion industry.  Time will show the arrogance and ignorance of this decision, but until then, the cost in human health and lives will be a titanic tragedy.

The other side often underestimates the pro-life movement.  If they think we’re going to pack up our tent and go home, they’re gravely mistaken.  Experience has shown that setbacks—no matter how large—only work to make us stronger.  Millions of women and their babies depend upon us and we won’t let them down.