Pa. Senate Sends New Abortion Clinic Regulations to Governor

December 16, 2011 — The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday passed legislation (SB 732) that would create new standards for abortion clinics, sending the measure to Gov. Tom Corbett (R), the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The bill would require clinics to comply with the same standards for ambulatory surgical facilities, which perform procedures with a higher risk of complications than abortions. According to the legislation, clinics would have to upgrade current facilities or relocate to new buildings with hospital-grade elevators, larger operating rooms, and parking lots and driveways large enough for ambulances. In addition, the bill would require clinics to have a registered nurse on staff at all times, regardless of whether abortion procedures were being performed. Clinics would have six months to make the changes.

Proponents of the bill argued that it is necessary to protect women's safety following the case of Kermit Gosnell, who was indicted by a grand jury in January for an illegal abortion operation leading to deaths of seven infants and an adult patient.

Critics of the bill said the changes will be prohibitively expensive and force the closure of clinics that have operated safely for years. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, along with other state hospitals, oppose the legislation.

House and Senate lawmakers said Corbett likely will sign the bill (Worden, Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/15).