I never thought I would get such a huge blessing on Halloween, but I did. We found out on October 31st that all four parts of the Texas Pro-Life Omnibus Bill will be placed into effect as planned.
Here are the components:
1. Any physician committing abortion must have privileges at a hospital within a 30 mile radius of where they practice. Began November 1, 2013.
2. The RU-486 abortion procedure (medical abortion) must be provided by FDA guidelines. Began November 1, 2013.
3. Abortions after 20 weeks gestation are no longer legal. Began October 29, 2013.
4. Any facility providing abortions must be licensed as an Ambulatory Surgical Center. Begins September 1, 2014.
All of these regulations just make sense. If a physician is not able to get hospital privileges, then I probably don’t want him performing surgery on me. It’s really that simple.
I’ve never had surgery where my physician would not be able to treat me if complications arose. However, that is precisely what women are subjected to when they have an abortion. They usually don’t even know the name of the doctor that performed the abortion.
If, by chance, they do learn the doctor’s name, he/she won’t be the one to care for her if she ends up at the hospital anyway. Now, that is what you call poor patient care. The RU-486 changes will include more visits to the actual physician who will give you the abortion medication. What a lofty idea!! To be able to meet and speak with the physician who will be giving you medication that could potentially kill you, and will, most definitely, kill your unborn child. Wow. What a concept.
I will only say one thing about the 20 week ban. If you can’t decide whether or not you want to have an abortion in FIVE months, then you need counseling, not an abortion. And, don’t give me some ridiculous line like, “But, what if the baby is diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome or some other syndrome that deems them imperfect?” Excuse me, but those “imperfect” children have the exact same value that anyone else has. They don’t deserve to die.
The last part of the bill is really the most detrimental to the abortion industry. This is the portion that will shut down all, except for 6, abortion clinics in the state. It’s not ready to go into effect until next year. All I can say that is that September 1, 2014 is going to be a HUGE day of celebration.
This section of the bill will be the part that most significantly reduces the number of abortions performed in Texas. Requiring a facility that performs surgery to be licensed as an Ambulatory Surgical Center is not a crazy idea. It’s actually a very logical and practical idea, also increasing the safety standards for women.
There are MANY abortion facilities in Texas that would not be able to accommodate emergency personnel if they were called. They would not be able to fit a gurney into the hallways or rooms. They may not even be able to fit through the front door. This is a major safety issue. This portion of the bill will rectify that issue.
There are CURRENT abortion clinics that have window AC units in the rooms where abortions are performed. It’s supposed to be a sterile environment. So, under these new regulations, that will no longer be allowed. Facilities will be required to have hospital grade HVAC systems to ensure sterility. Other requirements include life-saving equipment, elevators that can be used during emergencies (you know, so they can safely transport patients), increased reporting to the state, and additional medical staff.
These regulations shouldn’t come as a surprise because this should be standard procedure for any provider offering surgical services. Thankfully, this will now be the standard for abortion facilities across the state.
Will these regulations cost the abortion industry money? Yes, they will. However, it’s a billion dollar industry, so that shouldn’t be a problem. And, of COURSE these facilities would want to meet these higher standards because certainly their first priority is the safety of their patients, right? Wrong.
The abortion industry has been kicking and screaming like my toddler for the past few months. But, on Halloween, they officially lost. Now, that doesn’t mean their tantrum is over. It does mean, though, that their little fits of rage will fall on deaf ears.
In the end, we won, so did babies, mothers, and families. Can I call this a victory? Well, in the last three months, we have seen 7 Planned Parenthood facilities close such as Burleson, Corsicana, Bryan (abortion providing), Lufkin, Huntsville, Midland (abortion providing) and San Angelo (abortion providing). As of November 1st, we have seen an additional 16 abortion facilities cease to commit abortions. From 42 clinics to 19 in three months… Yeah, I’ll call that a win.
