The recently passed law would require abortion clinics to meet the same state health and safety standards already applied to other types of ambulatory surgical centers.
It is scheduled to take effect on August 28 but abortion centers are concerned it will put them out of business.
They say the stringent requirements could result in the closing of abortion businesses that are unable to comply.
Georgette Forney, co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, a national network of women and men harmed by abortion, says Planned Parenthood should be more concerned about the health of women.
"Planned Parenthood claims that if it had to meet basic safety requirements for outpatient clinics, two of its abortion centers would go out of business," she told LifeNews.com.
"That speaks volumes not only about the conditions of those clinics, but also Planned Parenthood's concern for the well being of the women it claims to serve," Forney added.
Janet Morana, also a co-founder of the group, agreed that women's safety should come first and said Planned Parenthood's concerns about the law are "all about money."
"We're talking about fundamental requirements like having doors and hallways big enough to accommodate stretchers, scrub-up facilities for operating rooms, and walls and floors that are washable," Morana explained. "Apparently, basics like that are too much to ask from Planned Parenthood."
Under the law, abortion centers would be monitored by the Department of Health and Senior Services as ambulatory surgical clinics, which must meet higher standards for both the facility and staff.
That designation applies to any abortion center where any second or third-trimester abortions are done as well as places that do more than five first-trimester abortions a month.
Planned Parenthood claims the new regulations would require extensive remodeling to its Columbia facility that would cost $2 million. Without the refurbishment, the abortion center would have to close because it couldn't meet the new safety codes.
Since the launching of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign in 2003, 2,326 women and men have shared their testimonies publicly at 189 gatherings in 44 states and six countries.
Related
web sites:
Silent No More Awareness Campaign - http://www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org
