Star Member mnhtnbb (11,565 posts)
Tighter abortion restrictions clear Senate
Source: WRAL.com
Raleigh, N.C. — With the gallery packed by abortion rights supporters and a protest waged outside the Legislative Building, the state Senate on Wednesday gave its blessing to a series of abortion restrictions.
The bill, which originally prohibited the recognition of foreign law, such as Islamic Sharia law, in family courts, was overhauled Tuesday with little public notice and converted into an omnibus bill titled the Family, Faith and Freedom Protection Act by adding the contents of various anti-abortion legislation pending in the General Assembly.
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Under the legislation, abortion clinics would have to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. Abortion providers also would have to be present with the patient throughout the procedure, whether surgical or drug-induced. Also, abortion clinics would have to have "transfer agreements" with nearby hospitals, which are roughly equivalent to the hospital granting the physicians admitting privileges.
Only one of the 36 abortion clinics now in North Carolina would be able to meet the new requirements, according to advocates.
Read more:
http://www.wral.com/tighter-abortion...nate/12623666/
I watched the debate on the floor of the NC Senate via live feed from WRAL.
As a retired hospital administrator I know what
upgrading standards (for clinics offering abortions) to standards applied to ambulatory surgical centers will do: raise the cost of providing abortions. Women are increasingly being denied insurance coverage for abortions. Raise the costs and raise the prices and facilities will go out of business--or choose not to offer abortions--and safe, legal abortions will once again be available only to those women who have resources. The disingenuousness of the Republicans on this issue is unbelievable. Do they really all need a lesson in economics? Or do they just need a shot of truth serum before they take the floor to spout their lies about 'safety'?
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